


Twin Heros

by kittyface27



Series: Crossovers [2]
Category: One Piece, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Pro Heroes (My Hero Academia), Angst, Best Friends, Crossover, Depression, Friendship, Gen, Haki, Kidnapped, One Piece - Freeform, Overpowered, Secrets, Torture, ace loses control, close twins, follows plot loosely, injuries, luffy and ace close, luffy and ace in another world, luffy and ace op, mostly bnha, mostly my hero academia, no romance anywhere, only people in the world with haki, seemingly invincible characters, twin luffy and ace, work to be overpowered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 134,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25978960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittyface27/pseuds/kittyface27
Summary: Ace and Luffy didn't actually believe they'd be rescued from the slums. They didn't actually believe a pro hero would take them in after being abused, go to school, make friends, get stronger. They didn't believe people would love them or ever value them. They also didn't believe high school would be riddled with bouts terror and joy. But anything was better than THEN. Having friends, enemies, accomplishments, failures. All to make the twins into heroes that could make others smile.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace
Series: Crossovers [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1925449
Comments: 42
Kudos: 146





	1. The Two Street Rats

**Hi, hi, hi! This it he first crossover I've ever posted and my first time dipping my toes into BNHA fandom. So, new audience and my One Piece audience, it's mostly two OP characters in the BNHA world. There are probably some things not correct in here, but nothing major. It follows the story line but changes it up quite a bit. There is blood in this, more than cannon typical, but I'll change it to M if anyone wants me to when we get to that part.**

**No manga spoilers, I am proud to say, even though the plot of this goes on after Hawks (my beloved) is introduced in the anime, last episode of season 4. I don't know what to expect attention wise on this one as I've never posted a crossover, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Canon-divergent just to be safe. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. It's a long one!**

* * *

"C'mon, we promise we'll treat you well. You'll be happy with us," a villain who could create chains said in a sweet voice as it chased the two twelve year olds around the street. They'd seen Ace and Luffy create a light in the alleyway when it was dark, controlling their powers perfectly together, Ace lighting a blast of fire and Luffy containing it into a compressed ball to give off light.

"No!" Luffy shouted, holding his twin's hand as they ran. They shoved past normal people, trying to find somewhere safe to hide. This area was one of the areas that rarely had heroes. It was a sad fact that heroes didn't care about the people here.

The homeless kids had no money for food, so they always went to the crowded homeless shelter instead of stealing. They'd probably steal right when a hero would show up, based on their luck. But they wouldn't attract the villains there. They wanted to be heroes, so they wouldn't commit crimes. And they couldn't fight back with their quirks or they'd get introube if they were caught.

Both wanted to be heroes, but as partners. They helped one another with their quirks. Ace could control and turn into flames, while Luffy could manipulate air in any way. They had small weaknesses. Ace ran out of fire if he kept himself in flame form for more than five minutes and needed ten to regain his strength.

Luffy's weakness was that it was more taxing for him to aim air in a pointed line, always a big gust.

"C'mon! Be good little boys and join us!" the villain shouted, shoving people out of the way as he threw chains at the boys. They were running as fast as they could, and were able to slip through crowds more as they were younger and skinny. Both twelve.

They were fraternal twins except for their hair color and different colored eyes. Finally a chain came so close to them that it nicked Luffy's cheek, cutting him and making blood drip down. Finally, they saw a hero. It was unusual for them to be here, but they needed help.

Both homeless boys ran up to him and grabbed his clothes. "Help us!" Luffy begged. It was a guy with a stone mask on. "Please, they're after us, always after us!" He put his hand on their heads and vowed to help them, asking what the problem was.

Ace pointed behind them and said there were villains, ones that could create chains and another that was able to create anything made out of paper. "Alright, stay here, I'll be back for you two," he said and hurried off, only the villains just arrived and he didn't even use a quirk, just taking them down with fighting hand to hand.

The two kept track of him easily with their abnormally good senses. They could tell who was around them, what was moving. Even where there was no sound or sight, they knew where anyone was. That's why they were able to escape normal criminals. Villains were harder, especially when they were fast.

Ace and Luffy weren't fast, as they were skinny and weak. Soon, the villains were in cuffs, and a police van was taking them away. The hero walked up to them and crouched. "What are your names?" They gave him their names, though only their first names. They didn't have a last one that they knew of. They were dumped on the street as young kids.

Their parents didn't like how they were stronger than they were even as small children. They'd never been to a school or knew how to read or write. They were street rats, always hiding from villians, trying to hide their abilities as best as they could. It was difficult not to, though.

"My name is Gunhead. Why were the villains after you?" he asked kindly.

Ace said, "Our quirks," simply. "They're always after us, always know." Gunhead asked if they were homeless, which was pretty obvious by their clothes. They nodded, both looking ashamed. He asked how long they'd been on their own. "Five years, I think. It's hard to remember sometimes." Gunhead sighed behind his mask.

"How about I get you safe somewhere? A nice place where you can be clean and cared for," Gunhead said, sounding so kind. Luffy had tears in his eyes and both boys nodded. After the villains were taken care of and another hero had come to search for anymore that might be hiding, they left. "So, what are your quirks? That has caused you so much trouble?" Gunhead asked. He was a hero, they would tell him honestly.

Ace said he'd show and lit his hand on, white flames showing up. Luffy lifted his hand and air encapsulated the fire, making it into a ball of bright light. It dissipated after Luffy stopped his power. Ace said, "We work together with our powers a lot. Then there's the other one that doesn't make sense."

They could see Gunhead's reaction from his mask. "That is impressive control. How old are you two?" Luffy said they were twelve. They were asked if they had any training or they figured it out themselves.

Ace replied, "We figured it out ourselves. Our parents didn't like our quirks because they were stronger than their own. They dumped us when we were seven." Gunhead's head dropped a bit and he asked for confirmation that they'd been on the street for five years. Ace nodded, and said, "There was nowhere to go. Heroes never go to that part, so we were on our own."

Gunhead apologized. He wasn't the one driving, and was sitting in the back with them. He promised that heroes would start patrolling there. That nobody should be forgotten. Even though they were leaving there and not going back, making sure nobody went through what they did made them both happy.

Then the hero remembered something Ace just said. "You have another power? There's never been anyone with more than one quirk." He sounded curious and confused. Luffy explained it this time.

"We both have like, a sixth sense. We can tell where people are, see what they'll do next for a couple seconds. It's weird. We're not seeing or hearing them, we just feel their presence and know where to go for safety. That's how we haven't been caught yet. We're usually good at escaping before anything bad happens," Luffy said honestly.

Ace nodded, and added that they didn't know where it came from or why they had it. But it was useful and helped them a lot. Gunhead asked if they used it for anything else. They shook their heads. Ace said, "Well, if we get in fights with the other kids, we can't use our powers so we usually fight physically, even if all of us are skinny and starved. We can avoid their punches or kicks."

Luffy proudly said that they always won. Gunhead was quiet for a moment. "How would you two like staying with me? I can help you with your quirks and take advantage of the extra sense. You can stay with me." Ace and Luffy looked at each other before nodding with watery smiles and loud "thank you"s.

"Consider it as also an apology, for putting you through that life. For us heroes not being there for you all," Gunhead said in a sad voice. They both said they forgave him. They both had somewhere safe to stay, with someone who seemed kind. Weren't most heroes good people? They wanted to be heroes too, so maybe staying with one would be helpful!

-x-

"This is all for us?" Ace asked in shock at the food in front of them. It was just soup and bread. Not much, but to what they usually had, this was a feast. Gunhead nodded, saying once their stomachs got used to food again, they would be able to eat much more.

"Make sure you eat slowly or you may vomit," he warned. They couldn't see his face still, but he sounded like he had a smile on. He sat at the table, which was small in his home connected to his dojo where he taught people how to fight without their quirks. He then asked, "How would you two like going to school?"

Ace and Luffy looked at each other and then back to the nice hero. "But we don't know anything. We'd have to start in elementary school," Ace said in an angry voice. They both wished they'd gotten an education like normal kids did. They were lucky, made friends and got to learn new things.

Gunhead said, "Not necessarily. If we cram, you would realistically be able to attend junior high for the last half of the year. It would be good training for high school. It would be a lot of work, but I think it would be worth it. And you could train even more with your quirks. After being with me, I'm sure you guys will be even more talented."

"Yeah! We want to be normal kids," Luffy cheered. Ace nodded vigorously. Gunhead said that was great, and they'd start in three days. Once they were a bit more used to life in what they saw as luxury. They had a small room to stay in that had always held equipment. They shared a bed, a big one, so there was room for a dresser.

Gunhead asked them if they were twins. Ace nodded and said they were fraternal, but had the same eyes. "They're very pretty eyes. I haven't seen ones like yours," he said. They both looked down and Luffy told him they were always mocked for them. "You have to be strong to be heroes. There's no reason to hate yourself just because someone else might."

They both smiled, and ate their food before going to their new room. Gunhead had called ahead of time for his assistant to buy a large mattress. They were also washed and not dressed in rags. They held hands in nervousness as they looked in the room. Luffy approached the bed and slowly climbed on.

Ace got on after him, they kept the door opened just a crack. Anyone outside the door could hear their sniffles. They fell asleep easily, cozy under the blankets. They'd shared close spaces long enough to not want to be separated. At least, not yet. When they woke up, both of them were crying again, having thought the day before was a nice dream. Until they woke up, where it would have been terrible. Thinking they were somewhere nice only to wake up in their cardboard box.

They ate applesauce and other soft foods like sandwich bread. Any food was beautiful and perfect to them. They wouldn't be greedy kids. They'd had nothing for years, and now they were given food and shelter. Also with the privilege of new clothes and a bathroom with a shower!

The next day was wonderful, and Gunhead asked if they could show him their sixth sense. Luffy encouraged Ace to do it, while Luffy sat on the wood floor. It was amazing, wood floor. So smooth even though it was made of wood. He was wearing socks. Shoes weren't allowed in the dojo.

Ace closed his eyes and put mufflers on to show it more clearly, that he didn't have great hearing. When Gunhead stuck his hand out, Ace sensed it and easily moved. Gunhead did this over and over, and when he swiped to Ace's head, he ducked, the swipe going right over his head. Once Ace felt Gunhead stop moving, he opened his eyes and took the mufflers off.

"And Luffy can do that, too?" The younger twin nodded. "That's incredible. You two can become so strong. And you want to be heroes?" They both nodded. "Then you have a head start with your skill with your powers and this sixth sense."

Luffy frowned, and asked if heroes could come in pairs, since their powers work well together. "There are many duos in the hero community. I see no reason you could not be a pair. Many heroes are married to their hero partner. Close relationships help teamwork usually. Teamwork is very important to be a pro-hero."

They both grinned at each other. After that, the boys sat in front of a TV in the back room. Gunhead wasn't going to make them do anything strenuous until they had put on more weight. Ace said quietly, "Are you excited for school?" Luffy nodded, but added that he was nervous that people would find out they'd been homeless. "Then we'll just not say anything. The only people who know are us and Gunhead," the freckled twin pointed out." Luffy nodded, and leaned against Ace's shoulder.

He was the taller twin of them, though they were close in height. They also looked forward to learning new things, like math and reading and writing. Gunhead hired a tutor for them. "Gunhead is nice. I like him," Luffy said. Ace nodded in agreement as they watched the news. They never knew what was going on with the rest of the area, country or world. Cut off from everything.

They wondered what their parents would think, if they became pro-heroes. Would they regret throwing them out or be even angrier? Having them be pissed would be better, that after they deserted them, they were now living with a pro-hero. Hopefully he didn't change his mind and kick them out. The day was spent playing games while Gunhead taught his classes in the dojo. They learned how to play checkers by diagrams and not words. Chess was impossible to play, and so were cards. It was frustrating, but they would work very hard on their studies.

What was high school like? They didn't know where it would go or how it'd work. What kind of things did they learn there? They were positive they'd make it to high school even if they didn't reach junior high in time.

-x-

When the tutor time started, they first learned basic math, which was easy and logical. They paid very close attention and asked questions easily, not hesitating to do so. The tutor said that they were good students to ask questions. She taught them how a normal school would. Six hours a day with small breaks between topics.

After math came reading. They couldn't write until they could read. It was harder than math, but Ace was able to easily remember the letters in the alphabet while Luffy had to look back at the reference more. They mostly learned those things, no history or science yet. They'd learn basic science that might be needed.

Gunhead had already been talking about high school, and a specific one that they said great heroes came from. U.A. They didn't care where as long as they got education and training, but after looking at photos of it online, it was huge and so cool. So, because the campus was amazing!

But they wanted to at least spend some time in junior high to get used to how it worked and what it was like with others besides themselves. In a big setting, a classroom, they wondered how it was.

Even when they were little, they weren't allowed to go to school. Their parents only wanted them to learn their quirks, but once they realized they were stronger, they were thrown out and were then unable to go to school for obvious reasons. The only thing they'd learned from living on the streets was how to get away and stay safe. Nothing else.

Every day, after their sessions, they were given tons of homework which they completed together, helping one another out. Ace was the smarter one, so he helped Luffy while they worked. And when they weren't working and were finally at healthy weighst, Gunhead started to train them in physical fights, not their quirks yet.

He taught them the very basics at first, like how he taught his new classes. But having one every day for over two hours easily put them ahead from the two times a week classes Gunhead gave every day. He spent the evenings mostly helping the kids he'd been taking care of.

They still hadn't seen his face once, and hadn't asked. It wasn't their business, even if they were curious. He seemed like he wouldn't dump them, and wanted to keep his word in taking care of them. Sometimes they felt like they didn't deserve it, mostly Ace. That they were a burden, taking up his time and money.

Luffy tried to convince him that Gunhead did like them, that he wasn't faking. They were sure he'd heard that conversation when the day later he gave them gifts. They were in small boxes, and he saw they were wristbands that said their name and then the name of Gunheads agency.

"You're always welcome here to stay for good or until you're ready to leave. I'm not going to do what your parents did," he said firmly. Ace didn't ask if he'd overheard, because it was pretty clear. Well, they kept their bedroom door open a crack at all times. It wasn't so strange that he'd heard them.

Every Friday night, they had a huge feast to celebrate their effort in both their studies and training sessions. He was teaching them as best as he could to not only rely on that sixth sense. Apparently, there was no record of anybody achieving that kind of ability. So they felt special, not weird. It was cool to have that power.

Gunhead said it gave them an advantage, but they should also learn without it. So they did. Their days were spent with class, homework, fighting lessons, and then watching TV or playing games. They knew numbers now, so they could play with cards.

When Gunhead had asked them why they watched the news instead of something more entertaining, Luffy gave their reason. "We've been cut off from everything for so long, we don't want that to happen again."

Sometimes it seemed like Gunhead had forgotten how they lived before. Like when he seemed surprised when one of them would mention how they hadn't had something in their old life, or mentioning any aspect of it. Maybe it was because they'd adjusted to this new normal fairly quickly.

They were quick at adjusting to situations because of the every present knowledge that things could change at any time. It had been necessary on the street. But there was a problem that was found when a kid their age came for his lesson. They had hid from him immediately.

Ace was sure it was a left over feeling from having to fight off or compete with other kids for food or territory. Well, it was better than challenging them to a fight immediately. That wouldn't be good. When Gunhead asked them why they hid, Ace replied, "We're kind of used to fighting other kids over food and territory. They used their quirks on us while we didn't.

"We didn't want to get in trouble with the law," he said simply. Luffy nodded along, and also said that they hid from them if they got food, so they could eat it without them seeing.

"Well, to go to school, you'll have to be able to be near a lot of other students," the hero pointed out at dinner. Ace and Luffy looked sad. They both said they'd do their best, and asked if they could take part in the group lessons if there were other kids their age. Still twelve, turing thirteen on New Years.

"That's perfectly fine. I think that's a good idea," Gunhead said. Even when he ate, he kept the mask on, only lifting the bottom up to eat. They went to bed that night nervous, but determined, sharing decisive nods about the next day. After their lessons, they'd take part in the later session with the two other teenagers.

They were nervous all day, though they didn't let it interfere with their work. "Ace, you didn't need to go through the whole book," Tina, their tutor, said. Ace had finished the entire math book he was given. Luffy had written a short story. They both went overboard with studying and working ahead.

The two didn't get in trouble for working ahead, and the tutor even praised them for it. Luffy's story was ripe with spelling and punctuation errors, but considering they'd only started three weeks ago, it was a wonderful improvement. "And it looks like you two aren't sharing answers. That's very mature and responsible."

Luffy grinned and said, "Cheating in anything is wrong. Plus, we both want to be smart on our own." Ace saw Gunhead in the doorway watching with his arms crossed and back straight. Since they couldn't see expressions, they'd learned about telling body language from a program on TV, since they couldn't read very well with more complex wording.

But his body language was one of pride. In them. Ace smiled softly and turned back. "While you worked ahead, there are still errors. I'd like you to go through those ones a second time after today, where we'll have a review on what we've learned so far.

After class, they got changed into their work out clothes, and waited in the corner for the two teens to arrive. They did, both in exercise clothes like Ace and Luffy's. It was ten minutes before class started that they finally talked to kids that they didn't think would hurt them.

"My name is Toyaka," the blonde one said, and they shook hands. The other was Tami, a girl. They shook hands with her as well, and introduced themselves. Their eyes were very noticeable, and they were asked if they were related.

"We're twins," Ace replied. Luffy was smiling, feeling they'd made friends already.

Tami lamented not having an identical twin so they could play pranks on their family and friends. Ace and Luffy smiled, thinking that was funny. "So did you join late? I thought new classes weren't being accepted anymore. Contracts had already been finished."

Luffy spoke honestly, "We stay here with Gunhead, now. We've been here a couple weeks." They looked surprised and Tami asked why they stayed with him. But Toyaka said it wasn't her business, and she apologized for being nosy. "It's fine, I'd be curious, too, though it's pretty personal."

Ace nodded, saying, "We're not upset with your question, don't worry." They bowed when the class started, and worked on basic moves that Ace and Luffy had already mastered after weeks of non-stop training. They enjoyed it, though. They could see himself getting stronger, mentally, physically and appearance wise. Both of them were toned and more healthy than they thought they'd ever be.

After the training was done, the four parted, and Ace and Luffy said they looked forward to seeing them again. "You guys, too. Have a nice day," Tami said with a grin, waving. Once the door closed, Luffy and Ace gave each other high fives.

"You two did very well," Gunhead praised. They grinned and thanked him. "And pretended well that you didn't already know these moves."

"It was easy!" Luffy said happily. "We made friends," he said proudly. Ace crossed his arms and looked proud as well. As of now, nobody knew of their presence with Gunhead. Nobody knew he had kept them, so that nobody thought it was unfair once they started school. That they had training personally already.

At dinner, Luffy said, "I don't want anybody to know my quirk when we go to school. I want to make friends for me, not my quirk." Ace nodded, saying that he agreed that that would be the best course of action. "Besides, we'll be strong enough from our training here."

Gunhead replied, saying that was noble. "You're right, many are friends because of their quirks and not who they are. Wanting real friends is something many don't care about, they want to be popular. I'm sure you'll make better friends without everybody knowing."

Both boys nodded. Gunhead asked how their homework was going, since they were getting more, to their own requests. They were both dedicated to be normal kids as soon as possible, leaving their old life behind in the dust as quickly as they could. Wanting to get away from that time. They stopped talking about then. More focused on the future and not the past. Their futures looked much brighter than their past, since the present was already great.

Luffy said, "I'm almost done, I have to finish the packet on photosynthesis. I needed a break." Ace said that he was almost done as well, but had to finish the essay they'd been given. They helped one another out, but worked on different parts, not going at the same places at the same time.

Gunhead whistled. "You asked for all that homework yesterday morning," he pointed out. "You two already make great students," he complimented. Ace laughed and said they were proud nerds. Gunhead chuckled. "And I'm sure you'll make many friends."

Ace and Luffy blushed a little bit, saying they hoped he was right. Gunhead was absent much of the night as he worked as being a hero at night now that he had two kids to look after, even if they could look after themselves fine. But they didn't want to be alone all day. So he was there in the morning. He was able to function perfectly on five hours of sleep.

The brothers, though they'd been in a new life for over two months, had not separated much. They were always in the same room, even if they weren't doing the same thing. They held hands while sleeping on the same bed. They grew stressed out when one was sick, when Luffy caught a cold from the tutor.

They'd been through so much, only having one another, that it was hard to be apart. Nobody tried to force them. They weren't ready and the tutor or Gunhead weren't going to rush them. Once they were more comfortable apart, maybe they'd try giving them two twin beds instead of one queen.


	2. First Day Of School

**Nekokratik: Aw thank you! I'm glad you feel dedicated enough in my work to go through the hassle of constant googling (I'm sorry!). My other crossover I'm editing is much more oriented to One Piece readers over bnha readers. So you won't need to google too much, if at all.**

**Safiretap: Thank you! I'm glad you're interested in it.**

* * *

**We get to see Ace and Luffy's improvements in their fighting in this chapter against a certain somebody.**

* * *

After another two weeks, Ace and Luffy had finished their first book that wasn't for elementary school. It was fiction, not history or science, but they did their work on it. They summarized each chapter, and took quizzes and then wrote a five page essay at the end. The tutor said she had never had children this dedicated or learning this fast.

Gunhead came in to get a bite to eat between classes and heard this. "You two seem like fast learners. You are skilled with your quirks, are learning quickly from my sessions, and are plowing ahead in your studies."

And they had gotten better at their quirks in a safe environment and someone giving them hints and encouraging. And the pro-hero trusted them to not damage the house and dojo. Ace had learned to cover his whole body into fire, and was able to turn his hand intangible. Only his hand, as it was very tiring.

Luffy was learning at a faster pace. He'd come to a huge milestone in technique when he found he could manipulate air in a different way, turning it solid when he touched it. He was able to climb up air like a ladder and stand on top of it like it was an invisible floor. He couldn't keep it hard unless he was touching it. So nobody else could use the air ladder or air floor.

Gunhead told them that he honestly thought that with more training, they could become strong heroes. It made both of them give watery smiles. "Our parents, they always told us that we'd go nowhere in life, even if we were good at our quirks."

Gunhead balled his fists, a show of anger. "Those aren't your parents. I'm your guardian now, never them again," he said firmly. Luffy hid his tears in his hands while Ace rubbed his back, sniffling as well. They were almost thirteen, but being told that somebody wanted them as family really touched them. Of course they'd cry, somebody genuinely wanted them around, of their own will and not by force.

"I'm glad you two ran into me back then," he said, putting his hands on their heads. They nodded, getting their tears under control. They turned the lip biting into grinning. They smiled so much here that it felt almost unnatural. But nice at the same time. And they liked seeing one another smile. It made them happy to see their twin happy.

Finally, they'd learned what they needed to start school, two months earlier and barely able to make the deadline to the nearest school so they could walk there. They had completed six months of work in four. And they asked the tutor for quizzes that they could have after she left so they could make sure they didn't forget.

They made flashcards, her pointing out the most important things to remember about science, math and history. They were fine with reading and writing now. She was genuinely sad to leave them. They were nice to be around, good students that never whined or complained about their workload, which they took on their own.

-x-

"Don't let anyone bully you. Don't let them anger you, and don't forget to eat, you'll have free lunch. Be careful on your way, okay? Good luck, don't be scared, you'll do fine," Gunhead said on their first day of school. He was more flustered than they were.

"We'll be fine. And we'll message you at lunch to say how things are going," Ace said, hiking his backpack up a little higher. "Promise."

Gunhead nodded, and patted both of their hair. "Make me proud," he said, a smile in his voice. Ace and Luffy promised they would with bright smiles. They walked to school, nervous but excited. They had expected to start in the middle of the semester, but that was gone. All that work paid off, and they were nearly normal.

They linked their pinkies as they walked there. They had made sure they were in the same room, and went to sit inside next to each other. Apparently, nobody was expecting new students. They all seemed to know one another. Both of them were taller than they were before after they started eating healthy food and hearty amounts.

Somebody sat in front of them. "Yo, haven't seen you guys before," he said. He looked nice enough, but did sound a bit cocky. They weren't easy to anger, mostly happy with life, even if it threw trouble at them. They'd been through worse than bullying.

Ace replied, "We're new here. We moved so this school is closest." When they were asked their names, they said Luffy and Ace. They discarded their last names long ago. They asked if those were their first names, and Luffy nodded, saying they didn't like their last name. They explained they were fraternal twins.

"What are your quirks?" an angry looking kid asked, blonde and spikey hair, who just gave off a bad feeling. Like he was angry at everything and everyone. Luffy easily said they wouldn't be saying them, that they'd rather make friends without their quirk being known. "Lame. Bet your quirkless like Deku," he said, looking in one direction.

Both of them wordlessly went and sat next to Deku. Ace sat in front of him and Luffy sat next to him. "What's your name?" Luffy asked pleasantly.

"Midoriya Izuku… Why are you sitting here? You heard what he said," Midoriya said quietly. Ace smiled and said he looked a lot nicer than some of the others. "But I'm quirkless," he pointed out, like that was what made people like one another.

Luffy asked why that mattered. Midoriya looked shocked, and asked if they were quirkless like he was. "No, we just don't want people knowing them and thinking of us differently. We won't judge others on their quirks unless they use them in bad ways. So it's not a big deal for us if you're quirkless. Wanna be friends?"

He smiled a watery smile and nodded, shaking their hands. The angry one looked at them with a pissy look. Like he was angry they were friends with Midoriya. Well, hopefully would be friends. Ace turned around and asked why the blonde guy kept glaring at them. He made an irate noise and looked forward.

Midoriya said, "He doesn't like me. I don't know exactly why, but he's never nice to me." Luffy frowned, and said that wasn't cool. Ace said he didn't understand why people hated other people when they did nothing bad to them.

Bakugo, as they heard his name, said, "You're two vanilla pansies, aren't you? Your quirks suck so bad you won't even tell anyone." They didn't take the bait. Being alone and then with someone as kind as Gunhead, it wasn't easy to get them angry.

Ace simply said, "Think what you want. It's not like you have to be friends with us." The others looked shocked, while Ace and Luffy were perfectly fine. They turned to Midoriya and asked him some more questions about himself. His hobbies and such. He seemed more than happy to have two friends when he had said nobody liked him because he was quirkless.

"You want to be a hero, too?" Luffy asked excitedly. Midoriya nodded, a sad smile on. He said he couldn't be a hero without a quirk.

"Maybe you could develop it late. Besides, if you get strong, you can be a hero, just not like the super ones," Luffy said enthusiastically. "We want to be heroes, too. A pair since our powers complement each other." Midoriya smiled, and asked if they would tell _him_ their quirk. Ace politely said they wouldn't. "We don't want you to think of us differently either. We won't use them unless of an emergency, so you could think of us like you. That we don't have one."

Bakugo scoffed. Why was he listening to them, it wasn't like they were speaking to him. They didn't care what his quirk was, but when their new fellow freckled friend turned white, they looked over to see Bakugo's hand make small but loud explosions. The twins just turned away, not looking very impressed, and showed some more interest in Midoriya.

Once class started, Ace and Luffy found out that they may have over studied since they knew the answers to so many of the subjects taught or questions asked. And they were used to answering and asking questions, so they did. Luffy was braver than Ace to answer questions, but Ace did as well.

Finally, the teacher needed to say, "Does anyone know the answer _besides_ Ace and Luffy?" they heard whispers calling them stupidly smart. Ace sent Luffy a grin, that both of them were smarter and also knew they were more powerful than anyone in the room. Their haki, as they decided to call it by randomly choosing paper letters from a jar, had been trained alongside their bodies and quirks.

Meeting Gunhead was the best thing that had ever happened to them, by far. He gave them so much help with talent and skill, and he also gave them affection that they'd never gotten from somebody other than one another. Life was genuinely happy now, knowing how bad things could be.

Life was wonderful now, and they smiled more than they frowned. Laughed more than they cried. Gunhead said their transformation had been a privilege to see firsthand. It was a small family and all, but still a good one. During the break for lunch, Ace, Luffy and Midoriya went to get food. Ace and Luffy paid extra for larger servings. They sat at a bench outside, under a sakura tree.

"You guys are really smart," Midoriya commented as they ate lunch. It wasn't the best food, but it also wasn't terrible. The twins weren't picky with food. Food was food, and it should never be wasted.

"We have never been to school besides this year, so we were homeschooled for a couple months. We kinda went overboard to make it to this year. Finished six months of education in four. If that hadn't been the case we would have come later in the semester," Ace explained. Midoriya was shocked, and asked if they hadn't been to school _at all._

Luffy grinned and said, "Nope! But learning is fun. Knowing when something clicks, when you can do something better than before. It's awesome. Improvement in anything is great." Midoriya actually smiled, a real smile. They exchanged phone numbers, and then went to class together. It was pretty clear that Ace and Luffy were the talkers and Midoriya was a listener, who didn't seem to be upset about it.

Next was english, which they'd studied as a side project, but not too in depth. They could pronounce things okay, but it was normally challenging. Not too bad, but they weren't experts in English. Math, reading and writing, along with science and brief history were the easy parts.

"Where do you live?" Ace asked Midoriya after school was out. He said he lived in an apartment, and asked where they lived. "We live in a house with a built in dojo. It's really cool. But it's a secret who we live with."

Ace and Luffy felt Bakugo's presence from behind. "He's behind us," Ace sighed. Midoriya turned around and didn't see Bakugo before he was in front of them. "Can we help you?" Ace asked politely. Bakugo was already angry at their nonchalance.

"You two are quirkless, too? Losers like stupid Deku," he spat.

Luffy replied, "If we were, that would be none of your business. We're not interested in whatever you're here for. Bye," and the two turned around, though they kept their haki on him, knowing when he went after them. Ace said he'd take care of it.

Bakugo started exploding his hand, and jumped at Ace, who easily side stepped him, grabbed his forearm, pinned it behind his back, swept under his legs and slammed him over his head. He was hurt by the intensity of the impact. Ace and Luffy stared down at him, Midoriya and the others around shocked. "Not to be rude, but we don't need to use our quirks to deal with bullies. Have a nice day."

Bakugo was coughing and swearing, the wind knocked out of him. Ace and Luffy gave high fives. "We gotta tell him about that," Ace said with a laugh. Midoriya looked shocked, but impressed.

"You guys took him down so easily. He's made everyone else afraid of him. Because he attacks people," the smaller boy asked. Ace said that it shouldn't be legal to do that. Though it was clear Bakugo didn't care. Luffy pointed out that you could be strong even without a quirk, proving what they'd said earlier. "Just gotta have lots of training and dedication, right?"

The green haired one nodded, and smiled, thanking them. They had just inspired him a bit. "That's great! I think you could be amazing, Mirodiya. Heroes have to be nice, and you're really nice. Just gotta harden your body," Luffy said happily. "We'll our place is this way. See you tomorrow!"

"Y-Yeah," Midoriya said. Ace and Luffy linked pinkies on their way back home.

Luffy said, "You were so cool, Ace. And then what you said! Wham, that was probably a bigger burn to his pride than you bypassing his power and showing him who's stronger!" Ace grinned and rubbed under his nose. "We were lucky to be saved by Gunhead, huh?"

Luffy nodded in agreement, and they went home to tell Gunhead about the last half of their day. He was angry at the bully, but so proud of them for standing their ground verbally and not just physically. The two went straight to the table after talking and started on their homework. They multitasked and asked how Gunhead's day back went.

"I caught three guys. There are heroes patrolling where you used to live. I checked it out. There are no kids on the street anymore. Meeting you there ended up helping a lot of people. We all feel guilty for letting that area slip past us," he said, sounding ashamed.

"There's no need to feel bad about it anymore, the heroes helped people," Luffy said cheerily. "Hey, can we bring Midoriya over so you can teach him?"

Gunhead sounded like he was smiling when he said, "I think you two should be doing the teaching." Ace looked to Luffy and said that they couldn't let people know the dojo in their house is Gunhead's. So, they both agreed, looking forward to helping him out.

Luffy commented, "He seems nice, but really insecure. So giving him the chance to fight well might make him feel better. I don't want us to have to protect him and make him possibly feel useless. Even without a quirk, he could be strong." Ace and Gunhead nodded in agreement.

The next day, it ended up as expected. Word that the new kid with no known quirk had stopped Bakugo, the supposedly strongest student at school with his quirk. But now, not the strongest physically. That went to Ace at the moment. They were glad they hadn't said what their quirks were. Maybe Midoriya would have felt really outshined if both of them were powerhouses and everyone knew it.

Bakugo glared at them furiously, and every time they passed him outside of class, he blew his hands up. Ace and Luffy didn't flinch once, and didn't even look at him. He was insignificant and they weren't going to bend to him and be victims. They also weren't instigators. They just avoided him to keep out of trouble.

Though after the day before, people showed more interest in them. A couple of girls approached them awkwardly, and asked if they could help them with some math. They agreed, not really caring that they were girls. They were just fellow students. Ace and Luffy didn't care about relationships. It would be a distraction from getting to the top, and Gunhead was perfectly happy being single. But Ace and Luffy were close enough that they didn't need anyone else. But, Midoriya was nice. And another friend was fun. It'd always just been them, after all.

Though they had made friends with the two at the dojo. They all went to the library and sat at the table, Midoriya sitting next to Luffy, looking a bit uncertain. "You understand this perfectly, right? Cause you're smart," Luffy commented. Midoriya's notebook already had everything finished, with extra notes on the side for himself.

The twins helped the girls until they started to do what seemd to be flirting. Ace and Luffy weren't interesting. "If you don't look at the paper you won't learn anything," Ace said after seeing one batting her eyelashes at him. She turned red and looked back at her paper and got to work. Ace was the better and older looking one of the two. Luffy was shorter and looked younger even though they were the same age.

He didn't mind, Ace seemed annoyed by the attention. "Well, these notes should help. You should make notes on the side in a way that you understand it instead of just copying out of the book. It'll really help, I promise," Ace said with a smile. The girls nodded and thanked him, their flirting over after Ace subtly rejected it.

Midoriya was clearly holding in a laugh. "Those girls are super popular here, you know?"

Luffy responded, "So? Relationships would interfere with our future dreams. Besides, we'd have no time for them like they might want." Midoriya asked what he meant. "Well, we do our homework and then some, and then almost the rest of the day is spent training without a guardian and our quirks."

"Ehh, so you do have quirks," he commented.

"Yup! I think mine is cool, and ours work together well. But were twins, it might be expected, who knows?" Luffy replied. Midoriya said they were cool. The kind of people he'd never met before. Strong and kind. And smart, too.

Ace closed the notebook and said, "We went through some stuff as kids, so we always look at everything in a positive light now. Being angry or sad all the time isn't a fun way to live your life, right? And being strong helps, too. You can protect yourself and not feel like a burden. And it's fun, too, right?" Luffy agreed. "We might seem too cheery to you, but that's just how it is. Life is good."

Midoriya said that their cheeriness doesn't bother him at all. It was a lot better than moping and being on his own. "Bullying is the worst," Luffy said.

"You got bullied?" Midoriya asked in shock.

"Before we were taken in by our guardian. There were tons of bullies," Luffy replied honestly, though he left a lot out. Ace agreed, and put his pencils and pens away. There were people in the library staring at them, before some came over, from their class but not the mean ones. They sat at the table, and introduced themselves.

"You guys, how are you so happy all the time?" Jeri said, the tallest of them who could make his fingers longer. "I haven't seen you frown once other than when he defeated Bakugo. Which was super cool! Even without quirks you guys held your own." Ace and Luffy weren't expecting this, but maybe they could have more friends. Maybe Midoriya could, too.

Ace shrugged and said that they just try to look at the good in life. Being upset and angry doesn't get you anywhere. "I'm not just talking about Bakugo, just in general." It was weird, but they seemed to be engaged in the two. Some were even talking to Midoriya.

A red head looked at Midoriya, seeming ashamed. "I'm sorry I make fun of you. After seeing someone else stand up to Bakugo, it made me think. Bullies may be safer to be around, cause they might not target you, but you don't need to be mean to be powerful. Even without a quirk, Ace took on him."

Midoriya had a watery smile, eyes wide with disbelief. Luffy bumped his shoulder with a grin. "Remember, look at the happy stuff in life, right?" he asked. The green hair nodded, looking down at his hands. The group talked about their quirks besides the twins and quirkless one. Midoriya was taking notes, and they let him, saying it might help him out in the future. They also didn't fear him from him knowing, but that wasn't the main point.

When they returned to class, many changed their seats, as it was only the second day, so they were sitting closer to Ace and Luffy. It really looked like being positive and not telling their quirks made them some friends. Who weren't interested in them for their quirks, even though they thought Ace's move was awesome.

Luffy saw Bakugo sitting around two people instead of five. He looked furious, and Luffy could see a bruise on his back of his neck. The rest of his body was covered by the black uniform. He also looked a little pouty, and Luffy felt bad for him. He was a bully, but he still deserved friends. Maybe true friends would make him not so angry and volatile.

Maybe he had a life like Ace and Luffy had. Depressing and stressful. So he took it out on others, like some of the kids had. Maybe they could be friends. So, after class, he told Ace he was going to talk to Bakugo, he nodded. Ace knew what he was going to do easily by his expression.

Midoriya asked Ace what Luffy was doing, why he was willingly talking to Bakugo. "Luffy doesn't like seeing people upset. He probably wants to see if they could start over, and maybe be friends," he explained. "I'm gonna wait for him here, if you want to stay, too." The other students around looked shocked.

"Why would he try and be friends with _Bakugo?_ He's the opposite of you guys," Jet said. Ace said that Bakugo might have a bad home life or something, so he took it out on others. Well, if it didn't help anything, they just wouldn't talk to him. It wasn't a big deal, and Luffy could take care of himself.

Luffy called his name when he was stomping down the hall. He stopped and turned to glare at black haired teen. "What do you want?" he barked.

The positive one wasn't deterred by his tone of voice. "We were wondering if we could start over. If you wanted to be our friend," Luffy said, gauging his body language and expression. He looked baffled and angry. Luffy waited silently for his answer. He didn't know what it would be. He didn't know about Bakugo's life, but everyone deserves a second chance. Maybe he could become happy and not always angry like he seemed to be.

"Hah?! You wanna be friends with me? That damn Deku said something, didn't he? I don't need your pity! I'll beat you two, without even using my quirk. Fuck off, I'm not interested in friends," he snapped.

Luffy frowned. "It's easy to see you're angry at the world. It doesn't have to be that way. Everyone needs friends," Luffy said and turned to walk away. Bakugo was still for a bit, and Luffy heard his hand explode in some sort of strong emotion. When he went back to his brother and friends, he explained what happened.

Jet said, "It's not a surprise, though. But it was good of you to try, and all." And all of them went their separate ways. Ace promised Midoriya that they'd teach him some easy moves that weekend if he wanted to. He nodded, and then looked down. Ace and Luffy didn't walk away, knowing he was going to say something.

"Thank you. People talked to me today, people who usually hate or ignore me. Even If it fizzles away, today was a great day. So thank you very much!" he said with a bow. Ace grinned and Luffy laughed, telling him it was fun to be happy. "Yeah," the green haired said and walked away, head held high.

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**So, throughout the story, Ace and Luffy could possibly be seen by some as Mary Sues (Gary Stus, whatever lol) but it's explained later on why they act how they do. It's based on severe childhood trauma, so they aren't just happy perfect people. It goes into much more depth way later in the story. I just wanted to get that out there. See you next week!**


	3. Entrance Exam

**ASL_lover: Aww thank you so much! That comment made me so happy! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.**

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**Finally get to UA in this chapter! Enjoy~**

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Ace yanked Luffy up, grabbing his arm hard and flipped him over his shoulder, him landing just fine with the layer of thin air beneath him. "So, step forward when you do that, and put all of your weight into your front foot. Jet, try on me, I'll be fine." And he would be. It was two months after school started, and they still trained their quirks and bodies daily. They spared until they had bruises. Luffy could now turn bigger spaces solid while Ace could finally turn his whole body into flames.

When they went to school with the bruises from sparring, they'd say it was the other twin, and went a bit too hard. And Luffy had a huge bruise on his cheek once, everyone was shocked that Ace would do that to his brother. "You sometimes go too hard in sparring. He didn't do it on purpose," Luffy replied.

Bakugo had grown even more animosity with Ace and Luffy. They were polar opposites. Rarely angry at anyone, while Bakugo was rarely happy with anyone. A few of his cronies stuck with him, but Ace and Luffy had attracted a lot of people. It was surprising how many people hated their own quirks. So with Ace and Luffy succeeding without using their own, it seemed to inspire and draw people in.

The twins actually weren't trying to gain friends, they just came naturally. What they had loved most about getting more friends was the change in Midoriya. It was like he bloomed. He smiled, was happy. He wasn't teased for being quirkless, though some expressed pity. It wasn't teasing, and he said anything was better than that.

Jet grabbed Ace and did the move, only Ace ended up landing on his butt first. He wasn't hurt at all. Luffy said that Jet had pulled him wrong, and that Ace should land on his upper back first. Jet nodded and adjusted himself, and got it right this time. "Nice!"

The others gave him a high five. They were helping them out on a Saturday, which they usually did. They did it every week since the twins got their homework done before the weekend so they could spend it doing something else.

Midoriya was also an overachiever. And he was practicing his moves daily, though he had nobody to spar with unlike Ace and Luffy, who had each other and Gunhead when he wasn't busy.

"Hey, can we see you spar together? See how rough you are, since you guys sometimes have bruises?" Masaki asked, one of the smaller of the group of eight, along with those who sometimes joined in but not always.

Ace and Luffy shared a look, shrugging and saying that was fine. And the other eight were absolutely shocked with how hard they went on one another, slamming them into the ground and kicking under the jaw. Luffy punched Ace in the back, when Ace kicked backwards into the shin, making Luffy fall forward where Ace kicked him in the stomach as he fell.

Once Luffy got a bloody nose, they stopped. There was awkward silence, and Ace handed Luffy a tissue to stop the bleeding of his nose. "... You guys are terrifying." Ace laughed and Luffy grinned.

"Pulling punches gets you nowhere. Besides, we always have just enough control to not hurt really badly. And we get first aid quickly at home." Still nobody knew about their relationship with Gunhead, though they left the house to go places. They weren't trapped there. "Besides, we're both pretty durable."

They shook their heads. "You guys are so close but you beat the shit out of each other? It's just weird." Luffy pointed out that it was consensual. It was never to seriously harm, but to train themselves. They liked seeing one another succeed, so they let them go as best as they could.

Midoriya was taking notes, though he was looking shocked as well. Ace looked at his watch and commented that it was getting late. And dinner was coming soon. "See you Monday, everyone!" Luffy asked, waving both hands. They all nodded and walked their separate directions. "Man, Gunhead's gonna be mad again," Luffy said, looking at the bloody tissue.

"I'm not too badly hurt, and you aren't either. I'm sorry about the bloody nose, that was too far," Ace replied. Luffy said he forgave him and that it was an accident. "Thanks, Lu. So, wanna practice our quirks once we get home and rest for a bit?" Luffy nodded.

When they got home, nobody was there, so they took showers and then put on their exercise clothes. Gunhead had gotten mad when they went too hard, overprotective of them. They weren't upset, they were kept secret from the public, it made sense. If a villain held a grudge against him, they could possibly target Luffy and Ace.

Luffy worked on his invisible spear made of solid air, while Ace attempted to move himself when he was all flames. That was harder than Luffy's stairs, since he wasn't changing his entire body. They wondered if anything would change if people knew their quirks, not including the enhanced haki. It had widened its scope for both of them. They could now see most of the neighborhood if they focused hard enough.

After they were tired, they ordered pizza and ate that, putting the leftovers in the fridge for when Gunhead came back. It was a late shift apparently. They didn't worry, knowing he was strong enough to take care of himself. That was why he was a pro-hero, after all.

The next day, their friends looked at them differently. Not in a bad way, but like they couldn't believe what happened yesterday. "What's wrong?" Luffy finally asked at lunch. "Is it about yesterday?"

A few looked down or away. "We just saw how strong you guys are without your quirks. Made me feel kinda weak. Since you guys don't usually go that hard against each other or any of us, it was shocking."

Ace smiled. "You could get that strong, too, you know? There's no limit to how strong you can get. Besides, we're proof that you can be strong without a quirk. I know some of you hate yours. All the more reason to not need to use it," he explained, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

They nodded, even though some still looked sad. Midoriya didn't look upset at all, just happy seeing them be able to throw one another around. That meant he could become that strong. It was always nice to see him smile, since he used to not smile at all. All his life he'd been bullied, so having him this happy every day was wonderful to see.

The twins were closer to him than any of the others, even though they all hung out together. They'd gone to Midoriya's house, since Gunhead didn't let them bring anyone over, which was completely understandable. The freckled kid was so obsessed with All Might it was crazy. But it didn't weird them out. They watched movies in his living room, on the couch or carpet.

It ended up being a sleepover, with all three passed out in the living room after the meal that Midoriya's mom made for them. She was a nice woman, absolutely adoring Ace and Luffy for being the catalyst of Midorya being so happy. How he always went home to talk about his day instead of returning to his room in sadness.

They were stuffed and stayed asleep all night until Ace woke up to the smell of bacon. He groaned and moved Luffy off of his legs and sat up on the couch. Inko wished him good morning and Ace replied the same. Luffy and Midoriya woke up when Luffy slid off the couch and onto their friend. Luffy sat up, and yawned.

"Off, Luffy, off," he said, and Luffy stood up. When he smelled the bacon he rushed to the table. Ace followed. Their hair was a mess. Midoriya came at a more leisurely pace. They had slept in their clothes since it wasn't supposed to be a sleep over.

"So, Ace, Luffy, where are you planning on applying to? For high school?" the mother asked, serving the large breakfast, knowing from experience that Luffy and Ace ate a lot. They were polite even though they ate at a much more rapid pace than Midoriya.

Ace replied, "Our guardian is pushing U.A. and we saw the campus. It's huge, so we're gonna apply there. Hopefully we'll get in." Inko assured them that they had to. They were smart, strong and whatever quirk they had had to be useful if they thought making it known would make everyone want to be friends for a different reason.

Midoriya mumbled, "I was gonna apply there, too. Hopefully I get in, too." He sounded shy.

"Wow, you're gonna apply without a quirk? That's super brave, if they reject you. But don't worry, we'll still be your best friends even if we don't go to the same school. If we did, that'd be awesome, too," Luffy said happily. Inko smiled and Midoriya blushed.

He said, "I heard Kacchan will be applying there, too." Ace and Luffy nodded, expecting that. He could get in, he was strong. But he didn't seem like the hero type. He was angry and hurt others on purpose, plus he liked to tell people he was going to kill. Not exactly very heroish. "Do you think I can get in?"

Ace said, "Won't know if you don't try, right?" Midoriya nodded in agreement. He said he'd gotten strong physically from Ace and Luffy, but still didn't know if that would be enough. They didn't have an answer, they all knew that it might not be enough. But they would never know if he gave up on his dream. He wanted to go there because All Might was from that school.

Ace and Luffy were less interested in All Might than the campus itself. It was huge, and that was awesome. They could explore!

A couple days after that, they were at school, applying for schools. Four with the preference being U.A. There was a written exam and then a practical one where they'd show they were strong enough. It was exciting. The only other person applying for U.A. was Bakugo. Apparently, it had been his plan as soon as he started junior high to be the only one to go to U.A. Now three other people were, and he hated all of them. None of them returned that hate, just general dislike from Ace and Luffy.

The group of friends Ace and Luffy had were all sad they might have to part. Ace and Luffy seemd to hold the group together, and without them, it might fall apart, which would be sad. But they'd make new friends at U.A. It would be fun, and they really hoped Midoriya would get in, too. All three of them going to that prestigious school would be amazing.

Ace and Luffy questioned if Midoriya could get in, but hoped he would. It would be ironic if Bakugo didn't get in, but they didn't wish him to fail. Maybe U.A. could get his behavior on track and he'd stop saying he wanted to kill people. Maybe his temper and hate would die down. He never seemed truly happy, and dislike was mixed with pity from the twins.

There was a day near the end of school where Ace and Luffy finally used their quirks, but with nobody noticing. They didn't need to move to activate some of their powers anymore. It had been over a year with training every day and with Gunhead's support and advice. The best year of their lives. It was still difficult for both of them to be apart when at home. Gunhead said it would take time, after all, they'd been on the streets for 5 years and in a verbally and physically abusive home life before that. He said they were honestly amazing for changing so much in a short time.

So, it happened when a fire started in one of the classrooms. They were evacuating before Ace walked past it and looked at the fire, willing it to dim into small flames that turned white and dissipated completely, a gust of wind sending the smoke out of one of the open windows.

"What the-?! What happened to the fire?!" a first year student asked. Ace and Luffy were far from the scene by the time anyone noticed. And nobody suspected them at all. To everyone, the twins had never told a soul about their quirks.

Gunhead had commended for their first act of heroism. That wording made them give pause. "You helped people without being asked. That's an act of heroism," the pro-hero said, and Ace and Luffy beamed and nodded.

-x-

Ace and Luffy were dropped off at U.A., the car windows tinted so nobody saw Gunhead in there. Their pinkies were linked since they were nervous. They walked up the staircase through the sakura trees and to the main gate with a huge wall surrounding the campus. They looked around and felt strong people surrounding them. But comparing those to one another, they were both stronger.

They felt a familiar presence behind them, finding Bakugo storming in. "Looks like you'll have to finally show off your lame quirks," he grumbled and walked in front of them. They weren't bothered, they had control of their quirks completely. But it was when they felt a semi-familiar presence behind them when they froze.

"Ace, Luffy! Guys!" Midoriya shouted. They whipped around and could tell something major had happened to him. "What's wrong?" he asked at the dumbfounded expressions on the twins' faces.

"What happened to you?" Ace asked quietly. Midoriya asked what he meant, confused. "Why are you suddenly a lot stronger?" Midoriya's face went white. He twiddled his fingers and said that he couldn't tell them. It hurt them a little bit, but they'd been hiding their power this whole time, so him having a secret wasn't that bad.

They had the formal exam first, the twins and Midoriya able to answer every question while Ace and Luffy felt they'd aced it. They were all questions of things from school and general knowledge about heroism. And since they lived with one, it was easy.

After the test, they spent more time sensing how Midoriya's presence had changed overnight.

But they were painfully curious about it, since they knew he had not had this strong of a presence before. They all walked through the doorway together and headed into the hero course practical exam explanation. They sat next to each other, and Present Mic, a loud person, appeared.

Midoriya started mumbling, which was something he did a lot when they were around but not so much when they were at school with others there. Ace bumped his shoulder, and he put his hand over his mouth. Ace and Luffy tried not to laugh and focused back on the speaker. They were so excited, they could finally use their quirks somewhere other than the dojo and backyard. They were more than ready.

But, when they heard how it was going to work, both of them looked to Midoriya in worry. What was he planning? He felt stronger, but it didn't really feel stable. The presence wavered just slightly every few minutes. But, they were able to tune out how many people were around and pay attention.

They would have to defeat robots that had different numbers of points affiliated with it. Should be easy enough. When Present Mic said his final words after a very animated explanation to the practical exam, they meant a lot to the twins. "A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes!" Ace and Luffy smiled at one another.

Though they got different places with cards. "Looks like we'll fight on our own this time." They hugged before going to the bus to take them to their designated arena. They didn't share a space with Bakugo or Midoriya. They both worried about their friend. They hoped he knew how to do something to get any points or he wouldn't be accepted.

Luffy knew what to do to kill the robots. Two moves he could use. He could blast concentrated air through it or spear it. But he knew he'd be using his air stairs because he couldn't jump as high as Ace and didn't have the power to fly even a few feet up like Ace could with his fire.

They scattered and Luffy ran in the direction he felt most of the large objects, though they didn't have presences like people did. He turned down the right corners and alleyways to get there fastest. He was going to get as many points as possible, no matter if others needed points, too. This was to be accepted, and he came first this time. Ace wasn't there for emotional back up, so he would do this on his own.

He found twelve bots and short air beams through each one, making them blast apart into pieces. He closed his eyes and felt more robots and people and headed there. Since there was a lot in his way, he ran across the air like stepping stones once he got high enough with his stairs.

He jumped down and blew air from his left fist to slow his descent before he formed a spear with his other and slammed it down into the top of the bot, making it break, but not blow apart. He jumped to the other nearest one and slammed an air spear into this one as well. People complained about him stealing their bots, but he didn't pay attention.

He went street to street, stabbing or blasting robots to pieces.

He was sitting in the air on a square of solidified air, wondering how Ace was doing, how Midoriya was doing, before he noticed the large presence that hadn't been moving yet. It was the one that was pointless, but Luffy knew he had enough points to challenge himself and go after that one.

He sprinted forward on stepping stones that formed on his feet automatically. He didn't need to think of their placement any more. It swiped at him, but he ducked before he ran on top of it, planting both hands on it and shooting a very concentrated beam into it, causing it to blow apart, and Luffy was just close enough to get out of the blast radius, forming a slide to get him down.

He looked proudly at the mess. It may not have given him any points, but it was a test of strength. He wasn't even out of breath. The ten minutes were soon over, and everyone was looking at him in shock. He smiled at them pleasantly and then walked back to the bus, walking over the remains of the big bot with his air stairs, before jogging to the van from where he stepped onto solid ground.

He wondered how Ace had done. He was sure he would have gone after the huge bot as well.

-x-

Ace used his haki to find each bot, taking out dozens at a time with blasts of white flames hot enough that they vaporized the bots in one go. Everyone screamed to get away, though the flames wouldn't hurt them.

He raced to the next bunch of bots and did the same, stealing chances from others. Usually, he'd like to see more succeed, but this was for him getting into this school. He had to go all out and prove his worth. It was fun, and he was grinning the whole time. Finally, he could go all out without worrying about the off chance he lose control of flames indoors.

He got to see just how destructive his flames were. He turned around to see many looking at him in shock. He waved pleasantly. Then he saw the huge bot, and grinned. Could he get this one, too? He rocketed up high enough to be able to aim his hands and let loose enough white flames to blast a hole in it before it exploded, making Ace fly back but land perfectly fine on his feet after briefly turning into fire.

He stepped over the firey remains and sucked all of the flames into his body. Then he jogged to the entrance where the bus was waiting to take them back. He was sure Luffy took the big bot too. They were overachievers to perhaps a fault.

When they were back together they ran and hugged. "How'd you do?" Ace asked. Luffy put a thumbs up. "Did you take the big bot, too?"

"Of course!" Luffy laughed. The two of them headed to where they knew the score boards were. They were looking everywhere for Midoriya, worried about him with how strong the bots were. If they didn't have their quirks, they could have probably taken maybe two of them with blunt force. Quirks would really help you be a hero, but again, you don't _need_ one to be a hero. They hoped their best friend got in. _Please, let him get in._

They saw Bakugo looking pretty proud, and found Midoriya with two other people. They ran to him, seeing he looked upset but unhurt. "Midoriya!" they shouted and ran to him, asking how he'd done.

He looked ashamed. "I broke both legs and an arm. Recovery Girl fixed me up." The twins gasped. But at least he was okay now. Ace asked if he got any bots. He looked so depressed and shook his head. Ace and Luffy looked down.

"But were you able to land any hits?" Ace asked, he and Luffy smiling and holding one of his hands each. Midoriya said he'd gone for the one with zero points. He'd destroyed it, but it hurt him. A tall guy who looked strict came over, and told them that Midoriya had done it to save a girl trapped under rubble.

Ace and Luffy grinned. "That makes you a hero, right? And I was right, your quirk came really late. But just think of what you'll be able to do once you master it! You'll be suuuuper strong," Luffy said excitedly. Midoriya still looked ashamed.

The older twin but his hand on his friend's shoulder. "We don't know the point system. They could be tricking us somehow. Why would they include that huge bot if there was no point in using it? Who would go after that? Someone brave. And you did it to save a girl. Surely they can give you some points for that!" Ace encouraged.

"Don't fall into despair. We'll know in a week, right? I was hoping we'd get our results instantly," Luffy said. "How about we come over, too. We can all know what we got together. And if any of us failed, then we can at least have comfort from our friend, right?"

Midoriya asked, in a sad voice, "How many bots did you two get?" Ace and Luffy didn't answer for a moment. But they would be honest. Lying would just make things worse, as he'd find out eventually and then learn that his friends had lied to him.

"I got 60 and the big bot," Ace said quietly.

Luffy said, "I got 63 and the big bot, as well." Midoriya was shocked out of his sadness. And those around them gasped. The guy who had stood up and been really noisy looked at them in shock.

"You were hiding that power all along?" Midoriya asked. "I've been so weak this whole time and you were that strong?" Ace quietly said that they didn't want friends because of their quirks, they wanted real friends who liked them for them.

"That is very honorable," the intense guy with the engines of his calves said. "You sound like wonderful friends." Then he left. Midoriya sniffled and Ace and Luffy both put one arm around his shoulders.

"Why don't we go somewhere nice?" Ace suggested. "There's a good coffee shop our guardian told us about." Nobody knew the name of their guardian. Their friends had asked his name, but the two had replied that he had asked that they don't tell anyone. It had been weird to them all, but nobody pressed.

Midoriya nodded and the three walked out of the campus, a small girl with short brown hair looked at Midoriya in worry and sadness. She didn't say anything.


	4. The Summer Before School

**Asl_love: Thank you! Bakugo evolves as a character in this one, so you might be happy, who knows? ;) Reactions to their powers are throughout the story since they're kind of OP. With the haki and cool powers they're very badass but learn. Not just overpowered at birth or anything.**

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**UA starts next chapter! Look forward to it! Enjoy~**

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"Will you tell me your quirks now?" Midoriya asked when they were at the coffee shop, all drinking hot chocolate. The twins agreed and Ace said, "I can manipulate, become and create white fire." Midoriya looked shocked. Ace looked ashamed and away. They didn't want him to be upset about their quirks.

Luffy answered, "I can manipulate air. I can solidify it and use it as solid weapons or stepping stones. Allows me to run in the air or climb invisible stairs. We didn't get this good at them on our own. We had a trainer who helped us non stop. The same one who taught us the martial arts."

Their friend was shocked and looked sad. "You guys are always so happy, no wonder. You have strong quirks." Ace and Luffy shared a glance and both nodded. It was time to explain to their best friend. Let him know that their life had been far, far from perfect.

Luffy gave it to Ace to explain, since he was better with words. "Midoriya, our parents abandoned us because we had these quirks. They were upset that they were stronger than theirs, so they dumped us on the street at seven. We were homeless street rats for five years. Heroes never showed up where we lived. Our powers made us constantly hide from villains who wanted to use us.

"A hero finally came and adopted us. That's our guardian," Ace finished. Midoriya looked shocked and then guilty. He looked like he hated himself.

His hands shook as he confessed, "All this time, I've been jealous. That you were strong and smart and happy and made friends easily. So happy. And now I know that I've been the one lucky and privileged. How are you so happy?" he asked, eyes wide, not understanding.

Luffy smiled and he was the one to answer, "Because we were saved. It was a little over a year ago. We've been cared for and fed and been sheltered. How could we not be happy? Our lives were hell, and now they're not. We could never not be happy when we have beds to come home to. Food, so we're not starving anymore."

Ace admitted, "I was kind of jealous of you sometimes. When we went to your house and saw all the pictures of you and your mom. You've been loved since you were born. We've been loved for a year. I know that it's the norm for most people. But still, you were blessed with a family that cares about you. That's better than any superpower, to me." Luffy nodded in agreement.

Midoroya started crying into his hands. "I'm sorry. I misjudged, and now I won't be able to go to the same school as you. I wish I had a quirk earlier, I could have learned it. It wouldn't destroy my body," he sobbed.

Luffy rubbed his back and leaned his head on his crying friend's. "At least you finally have a quirk. You can be strong with training, right? You have so much potential now. Maybe you could find a hero to tutor you as well," the younger twin said encouragingly. Midoriya nodded.

"Is it horrible I'm happy your life hasn't been perfect?" he asked quietly.

"Nah. It doesn't bother me. We wouldn't be who we are today if we hadn't gone through that. It's a part of us, and being saved from that changed our world. Now everything is bright. We have a future. We don't need to fight other children for food. We have one another and a loving home. And a great friend that is irreplaceable," Ace said sincerely.

Midoriya hugged Ace tightly, with Luffy rubbing his back. "Thank you. You guys are my saviors. You came and talked to me. Even though you have powerful quirks, you talk to _me._ And I finally had friends. I wasn't teased anymore, bullied. Thank you! I can never repay you."

"Silly, you don't have to. We didn't choose you out of pity. We could tell you're a good person! And you are. Don't let anyone ever tell you different," Luffy said very firmly, though still with a soft smile.

The green haired pulled away from Ace, had a watery smile on. "We'll be friends, no matter what school we go to." Ace and Luffy nodded, grinning. Then they shared a look, and they knew their tells so well it was as if they could read each other's mind.

Luffy said, "We have one more secret. It's harder to explain, but we trust you not to tell anybody." Midoriya promised he'd keep it a secret, no matter what it is. "We have another power. It's not a quirk, but both of us have almost a sixth sense. We can sense people around. Like, we know where people are when we can't see or hear them. That's why we were able to sidestep Bakugo when he attacked quickly that first day. Ace knew where he was and what he was going to do."

Midoriya was in shock. After all, that had never been recorded before. "You guys are so cool."

Ace grinned and Luffy nodded his head proudly. "And two cool people choose you to be our best friend. That means you're cool, too. You just don't seem to know it yet." Midoriya smiled. He said their kindness had to also be some sort of quirk. Ace laughed and said maybe it was. After an hour of talking and the mood generally lifting, Midoriya's mom offered to drive them home but the twins declined. Their guardian would pick them up.

They called Gunhead and he picked them up, asking how it went excitedly. They explained the robots and how the exam was graded and the point system. "How many did you get?" he asked with an instsient voice.

"60."

"63. And we both got the big bot just for fun, the first time we've ever really gone full force with them. I'm sure we'll be accepted. I hope that Midoriya does as well. He's always wanted to go to U.A. because All Might came from there. I'll be so sad for him and us." Gunhead sighed, feeling for them.

"But I am proud of your strength. I know this time will be different since everyone will know your quirk now. I know having Midoriya would help you out to make friends that you know are true friends," the man said as they pulled up. The other two were quiet but agreed. They didn't have any work to do and went to their room to put on a movie on the TV in there, on the wall since there was no room for anything else in there. The small space was cozy, so they didn't mind.

They waited in nervousness for the next week, and Bakugo seemed pretty haughty. So, he'd scored well. They didn't know how well, but if they matched or had more than that, he'd be so angry. They were sitting with their friends at lunch, all three quiet while the others talked. Ace and Luffy pretended to pay attention, but all three were nervous about the results. They'd be coming that weekend and it was Friday. They'd know soon.

Bakugo came over. "Yo, you all look pretty nervous. How many bots did you get? I got 47," he bragged.

"60."

"63. And we both got the big bot for fun," Luffy said simply. His jaw dropped and he grew more angry than before. "If you don't believe us, you'll learn soon enough. We're really not in the mood, Bakugo," he said dismissively.

He huffed and was going to kick everything off of the table before Ace easily grabbed his foot and threw him off, stumbling backwards. "I already told you. We don't need our quirks to beat you."

"You'll find out just how strong I am if you end up passing. And I mean them, not you Deku. There's no way you passed, damn dirt," he said and stomped off. Midoriya was never angry when they didn't respond to Bakugo when he was mean to him. He knew it was against how they wanted to be and that it was what Bakugo wanted. To have a confrontation. So if all three ignored his words, that was the best solution.

"Do you want to facetime when we get our letters?" Ace offered when they were walking to the parking lot to head home. They'd need to take the train to get to U.A. It wasn't that big of a deal. Or maybe Midoriya's mom could pick them up. Either way it wasn't that big of a deal in the long run.

Midoriya nodded. "If I get accepted. If I don't, I'll call a bit later. I'll probably be a mess if I don't pass." Ace and Luffy nodded, telling them they'd hear him tomorrow. On the way home, both brothers were quiet. Both wishing Midoriya would get in some fluke. Without them, he may slip into the way he used to be. Teased and ridiculed for not having a quirk he can control.

His manifested ten years late, but it was there nonetheless. He should be happy and focus on the future, and how he can control it. He told them it was raw strength, but had damaged his body. Hopefully that wouldn't continue to happen. That's what was good about manifesting it at four. You learn how to control it as you grow up.

The next day, Gunhead ran into the house area and gave both boys their letters. There was something hard in the envelopes and they ran to their room to open it, jumping on the bed and tearing the projector out of the paper.

"Mine first?" Ace asked, voice shaking. Luffy nodded, his fingers digging into the blankets. Gunhead was in the doorway, needing to know as well. Ace let the projector turn on, and All Might was there. He talked a bit before they really started paying attention. They weren't Midoriya. They had a favorite hero, Gunhead. All Might was a legend, but wasn't their favorite pro-hero. But it would be good to learn from him. Maybe he had different advice that Gunhead did.

When the score came up, it showed Bakugo had gotten third place. Luffy was top and Ace was second. Oh, he was going to be a _nightmare._ Hopefully not in the same class, as their scores were high enough to be accepted even if they hadn't gotten 100% on the tests.

"I'm so proud of you!" Gunhead cried. Ace and Luffy laughed, and then hesitantly looked back at the screen. Midoriya got zero points for any bots, but got 60 points for the rescue of the girl that broke his body. He passed! Just barely, he passed!

"Fuck yes!" Ace said loudly.

"We're all going together!" Luffy cried. "We gotta call him! Right now!" Ace hurried to open his phone and call Midoriya. The phone rang for a while before their best friend picked up, in tears. "I told you! They tricked us and you saved her and that got you to pass! We're all going together!"

There was loud sobbing on the other end, he was so happy. "I hope we're all in the same class and without Bakugo. He's gonna be a nightmare, placing behind us," Ace said, though he was still smiling. "Hey, in the letter it says we have to decide our hero costumes! Have you thought of one?"

Midoriya gave affirmation while the twins had ideas in their heads, but not fully. After talking and laughing and crying for a bit, they got off to celebrate with their family. They had a huge feast that night, and Gunhead cried a lot. It was funny to them. After dinner, they hurried to their rooms to design costumes.

When Monday came, the three of them gushed to their other friends that all three had made it. And hearing that Ace and Luffy got the first top spots, with Bakugo in third place, made them all ready for the big blow up.

And it did come, when the three were outside and heading to the comic book store and then the martial arts store. Ace and Luffy had spending money as congratulations. They could buy whatever they wanted as a gift. Bakugo made a loud explosion noise behind them. Ace and Luffy already sensed him coming. They turned around, as did Midoriya.

"How did you do it," Bakugo demanded coldly. "You were supposed to have weak and lame quirks. Why have you been hiding it?!"

Ace pointed out, "We never told you they were weak or lame. We hid it because we didn't need them to make friends. That was our goal, to make friends. Not be the best. We're not obsessed with victory over other people. That's you, not us." He wasn't being kind, Bakugo had never even been civil with them. He still seemed pissed at Luffy for offering to be friends for some reason.

Others had vacated the area. "I will beat you. You just got lucky then. When we actually fight with our quirks, you'll be decimated," Bakugo swore.

Ace frowned. "We've already shown you we don't need quirks to deal with you." They turned away, and began to talk about what they were going to buy. They left Bakugo behind, and Midoriya smiled. He said they were cool.

"All of us are cool. We're going to U.A.!" Luffy cheered, putting both arms in the air. Ace was grinning and Midoriya was laughing. He was in the best mood he'd been in for awhile. The stress of applying and then waiting for the exam and then the results had been stressful on all of them. But Ace and Luffy were like each other's stress balls. When they wanted to fight out to feel better, the other let them go hard. Despite how much Gunhead hated that.

Their friend bought another All Might figurine. "You really like him, huh?"

Midoriya looked down at the key chain and nodded. "He gave me inspiration. I've always wanted to be like him. It was hard, when I didn't have a quirk. I wasn't going to be able to be a hero, like All Might." Then he looked up, eyes bright. "Who is your inspiration?"

Ace and Luffy pointed to each other wordlessly. Their friend shook his head, asking why he expected anything different. When they went to the martial arts store, they easily found what they wanted. Yin and yang pendants that they put on their wrist bands that they wore everyday. The ones with their name and Gunheads.

"What are you gonna do with those?" Midoriya asked curiously.

"Paint them. Mine will be white and Luffy's will be blue. Then we'll sew them into our wristbands," Ace replied. They had them in the baggy and then went to get some ice cream.

-x-

"There, perfect," Ace said as he looked at Luffy's new addition to the cloth wristband. It was right where his name met Gunhead's name. Family was everything to Ace and Luffy, and Gunhead. He then sewed his own. He had the blue one and Luffy had the red. They couldn't complete since they were sewn, but they knew what they were for and represented.

Summer had begun and it went by too fast. Ace and Luffy spent it training Midoriya in martial arts while he figured out what to do with his self-destructive quirk. And he was invigorated with confidence, so he was easier to teach. He got fitter and quicker at thinking and planning on what move to do next. He didn't have the raw strength that wasn't detrimental that the twins had.

For the summer, Ace and Luffy were covered in bruises. But they trained harder to be stronger and be able to keep up physically when they got to the hero school. Gunhead hadn't gone there, so the two didn't really know what to expect. All they knew was that the campus was awesome and the students there were strong.

They also worked with their quirks, now out in the open since everyone would know anyways. They found a deserted field they practiced in. They perfected duo moves and combined attacks. To be honest, Luffy's quirk was stronger and more versatile than Ace's. He was able to create things out of air and walk on them. He could also make weapons and small shields. He was trying to learn to cover himself in body armor made of air. It wasn't going anywhere. It wouldn't hurt anyone else, but, in theory, it would protect his body from others' attacks.

Ace slammed into his shield and Luffy was fine. "That power is too strong, it's not fair," Ace complained, shirtless and laying on the grass. Both of them were exhausted from fighting for two hours. They put their hands up above their heads and they looked at the sky.

"We're gonna always be together, right?"

Ace sat up and looked concerned. "Yeah, of course. Why do you ask?" Ace bit his lip.

"I still want to be a pair of heroes, but what if one of us changes our mind? I don't want to ever part with you. Is it wrong to depend on each other like this? I mean, we have other friends and Midoriya. But still, I'm worried you'll leave me some day," Luffy confessed.

Ace laid back down and looked at the sky. "I still want to be a pair, too. If I didn't have you… if I was alone in our old life, I don't think I would have lasted. It would have killed me. I can never part with you after what we've gone through. How we were the only things keeping each other sane and not hopeless.

"You're my brother but you're also my best friend. I don't know if it's weird or wrong to be so close, but I don't care. Being with you makes me feel whole. We have Gunhead. But I don't think I'd be able to carry on if something happened to you," Ace said truthfully.

"The world would be against me again if something happened to you. Don't let anything happen to you, okay?" Ace promised he wouldn't. "I'm glad we're in the same class. And with Midoriya, but it would have been so scary if we were separated."

Ace nodded, and then said it sucked they had to deal with Bakugo. Luffy sighed and agreed. "I've lost hope that he will mature anytime soon. What hero tells everyone to die or he'll kill them?" Ace wondered.

Luffy shrugged, not understanding it either. Then he mused what kind of people they'd meet. After all, they had to be capable to get into U.A. in the first place. They placed the top two places, but they knew that some quirks were powerful and not able to be used to destroy monsters or be flashy. "I hope nobody likes us because we're strong."

Ace agreed, and then said he was glad they at least had Midoriya. "His quirk is crazy. How it broke his bones. It wouldn't be very practical in fighting." Luffy agreed, and said he hoped he'd learn fast. "You know what will be awesome? The sports festival! What if we were the top two contenders and had to fight each other?"

Luffy laughed. "That would be a very long fight. We'd know each other's every move, and not just with haki. It would be endless!" he exclaimed. "But I hope we do that. Then one of us would win, and that's good enough. But I'll win first place, like I did with the bots," he bragged.

Ace got up and ran after Luffy, who was bragging about 63 with Ace's 60. They rolled around punching and laughing. "I'll be the number one!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Keep dreaming. You're the younger one, you have to listen to me," Ace said.

"We're two minutes apart! You're barely older than me." Ace crossed his arms and said he was still the older brother and knew what was best. "Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that." Ace scolded him for his rudeness. "You're my brother, I can tease you if I want. Deal with it." And they chased one another again before rolling down the hill and into the creek.

Luckily, their phones weren't on them. Ace dried himself off by raising his body temperature. "That's not fair, dry me off too!"

"Sorry, little bro, it doesn't work like that," Ace said, laughing at Luffy being soaking wet. Luffy swore. "Hah?! How could you say something so terrible to me?!" he shouted in mock hurt.

Luffy got on his knees, looking at the ground. "I'm so sorry beloved brother! I could never think of saying something like that ever again!" Then he looked up. "Bitch." Another chase, though Luffy got away into the air. Ace rocketed up. "Try and reach me now!" Luffy shouted from 60 feet in the air. "I am superior!" he shouted, arms up in the air.

"Fine, you win! I'm starving, let's go home and eat," Ace said. Luffy dropped down and landed on him, knocking the older twin to the ground. He got up and ran, still wet, as a raging Ace followed closely. They would always be best friends. The most trustworthy person they'd either ever have. It would always be them against the world, though they had a couple more little allies. But they would always come first.


	5. UA Start!

**chickie434: And none of the teachers ever tell him to stop saying those things! Besides Midnight when they were choosing hero names.**

**ASL_lover: Thank you! Mineta... god I hate him. In all of my crossovers with him, I have all the main characters hate him. He's the worst, and it's so funny that so many people just don't include him in the stories. There's even a tag like "Mineta Does Not Exist". I don't know why they have a pervert character in this, too. It's so overused. I feel like there's always a pervert or creep in most anime. -_- Ace and Luffy are really cute and so close. They can't ever be apart.**

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**Meeting class 1-A in this one and starting school! Enjoy~**

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"Be good, make friends!" Gunhead said as Ace and Luffy got out of the car.

"We will! Good luck today," Luffy replied. Gunhead nodded and drove off. Luffy and Ace waited for Midoriya to show up and run up the steps to them. "We're finally here, at your dream school. I can't wait to explore," Luffy said enthusiastically. "And we'll make some cool friends with awesome quirks."

They hurried inside, getting a bit lost before they found the classroom door. It was big, but Ace easily opened it. The moment they entered, Bakugo was arguing with the intense guy. Ace and Luffy chose a seat in the back while Midoriya chose one in front of them but still near the back.

"Hey, what's your quirk? I saw you running in the air and then blowing the bots up without doing anything," a guy with spiky red hair said. "My name is Kirishima."

Luffy shook his hand. "I'm Luffy, this is my twin, Ace. I can manipulate air. I made it denser so it could carry my weight. The explosions were from bursts of air," he explained. Bakugo snapped his head back and Ace told Kirishima his power. How he has a fire quirk except the flames were white. And he could turn his body into fire, too.

"You guys are pretty strong. You got the top two spots. And you're brothers, too."

Most people were already seated and talking to one another when the three showed up, and Midoriya was hitting it off well with Iida, the intense guy, and Uraraka, who he helped and then helped him. It was nice seeing Midoriya make his own friends easily. He was the one to introduce the twins to those two. "These are my two best friends. They helped teach me some martial arts."

Ace and Luffy smiled and said hi. "My name is Iida Tenya. I heard you talking with Midoriya-kun. When you said you never used your quirks because you wanted to make real friends instead of ones interested in your power. It was quite moving."

Ace and Luffy blushed but smiled. "That's so nice! I'm Uraraka Ochaco. You both seem really friendly. Wanna be friends, too?"

Ace said, "You don't need to ask to be friends. We'll be friends with anyone here if they want to." Bakugo scoffed. "And you, too, Bakugo. If you ever are more civil."

"Fuck off, I don't want to be your friend, you shit!" Ace shrugged, but it definitely didn't look good for Bakugo. A terrible first impression as he had also been arguing with Iida the moment the three sat down. Nobody spoke with Bakugo, but talked with Ace and Luffy. Midoroya was more quiet but looked happy.

These desks and chairs were really nice and comfy. Fancy and well made. The wheels didn't squeak and they could move side to side a bit. The class went silent when Ace and Luffy assumed was the sleep-deprived teacher entered. The moment he walked in, everybody went quiet.

"My name is Aizawa Shota and I'm your homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you," he said in a tired voice. A dull voice. He had long hair and what looked like a thick bandage scarf and red rimmed eyes. Ace looked at Luffy who gave a shrug. "It's kind of sudden, but put this on and and go out on the field.

They each had one sized for them in a closet in the wall that had seemed to not be there before. Iida passed them out, taking control easily. Ace and Luffy both found that they had gained some muscle over summer and the shirt was a bit snug. It fit fine, but was a bit revealing. "We're buff," Ace joked quietly.

"Can't help it, we gained more. That's what you get when you train seven days a week," Luffy replied. Midoriya looked fitter than he had been before, as well. "Midoriya, you got some gains, too." He nodded and said it was thanks to them for helping him work out.

Ace and Luffy linked pinkies for just a moment before they walked outside of the door. A kid with half of his hair white and the other half red walked up to Ace and asked him a little about his power. "So you use fire?" Ace nodded.

Ace said, "It's not normal fire, it's white. I don't know why." Luffy snickered. Ace shot him a look. Ace was bugged about his flames because they were hard to see in the daytime. They were hot enough to turn sand to glass, but it wasn't very exciting if they couldn't be seen.

A girl with black hair with a very excited pony tail it seemed, walked to Luffy and asked, "Is it that you can create things from your body or does the air already be ready for you to work with?" She sounded really proper.

Luffy replied, "It only works if I'm touching it. Nobody else can feel it being solid, so it only works for me. It doesn't come out of my body, it just hardens when I want it to. But the blasts and gusts of wind come through the air and out my hands. Like a vacuum of the air behind me being sucked into my palms and rushing in the direction I point it."

"That's very interesting. My name is Yaoyorozu Momo. You can call me Momo."

"I'm Luffy," he said with a smile. She asked if that was his surname. "It's my name. Me and Ace discarded our last name and don't use it anymore." She looked interested but didn't dig. The walk wasn't too long and when they got onto the field, Luffy and Ace were excited with how damn big it was.

When they stopped at a baseball field, they were in a crowd, and Aizawa told them they'd be taking a quirk assessment test, which surprised everybody. Ace and Luffy were surprised as well, since they had the entrance practical exam that showed their quirks. Was that not good enough? Aizawa seemed really strict and boring to both teens. He droned on about how the school is known for not being like other schools, organized differently. He also said heroes couldn't have leisurely activities like that exam was.

Ace and Luffy discretely looked to the side at Midoriya, who was sweating. He hadn't learned much control over his quirk, even if he was in better shape. But, nervousness can make all that progress disappear in an instant.

When the teacher was talking about junior high, how they did a physical assessments, they were told they should be used to it by now. Ace and Luffy exchanged awkward looks. They'd only been in one year of school. They didn't know what was routine. Everything was for the first time. They felt a bit out of place, but thankful they'd had that one year buffer to get them at least a little used to school life.

This place didn't seem like it would be the same, though.

Apparently there were physical assessment tests in junior high every year. They took it once, when they weren't that strong and hadn't used their quirks. Which was what they were going to use now. Most were undaunted, while Midoriya was shaking in nerves. Luffy took his hand and gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't worry," he said simply. He didn't assure him that things would go fine, since he didn't know if that was true.

Still, the brothers didn't really know what he was talking about with the education system. But he said it was pretty much stupid to not be able to use your quirks in physical assessment. The twins didn't think that was a problem. Then he turned to Luffy. "Luffy, you finished at the top of the practical exam right?" Luffy nodded, feeling animosity coming from Bakugo at hearing that.

"In junior high, what was your best result for the softball throw?" Luffy had to think for a moment. He didn't remember, and looked to Ace, who shrugged helplessly. He truthfully said he didn't remember, but knew it wasn't past 70 meters. "Good enough." Luffy sighed, glad he didn't cause a problem. Ace touched his hand with his pinky as reassurance.

It felt like they were starting all over again, knowing nothing. Still, thank god they'd had at least one year of normal education. Now, they both felt even prouder that they'd rushed to get to school on time and not halfway through the semester. "Try doing it with your quirk," the teacher said.

Luffy nodded and walked forward, taking the softball. "You can do whatever you want as long as you stay in the circle." Luffy nodded. He didn't mind what was thought of him here, but he was going to use his power to the fullest when asked to do so. He gathered air in his palm, a draft already moving forward and snapped his hand forward, the gust of strong wind going with it.

It was still in the air and nobody could see it. The burst of air stopped finally. The measurement of how far it went was 1,600 meters. Basically a mile. Ace clapped when no one else did. Luffy gave him a smile. The others looked amazed but not surprised based on where he had finished in the practical exam, first place. "Know your maximum first, that the most foundational rule heroes should know. Ace is next."

Luffy gave him a high five while they switched positions. Midoriya was looking terrified. Luffy pat his back. "Just do your best no matter what happens, you're here," he said quietly.

Ace went to throw his ball but the thing melted in his hand. "Oh. crap," he said, holding up the melted metal. It didn't burn him, the class laughed. Not in a mean way, and Ace rubbed his head awkwardly. Luffy snickered.

"Wait one moment," Momo said and created a new ball out of her arm with ceramic fiber paper wrapped around it. "Try this one," she said helpfully and handed Ace the ball. It didn't melt and he threw it hard. The flames didn't really make it move further, but his throw threw it a good 160 meters. Better than average. Ace walked back to Luffy.

Ace and Luffy frowned in disappointment when their teacher shot down the happy and excited attitude of the class at the moment, looking forward to using their quirks for the test. Except for Midoriya, who was biting his lip in worry.

The class attitude dropped significantly. Aizawa was making it sound like being a hero was joyless and only the job. Gunhead had friends and were on friendly terms while on the job. It wasn't lifeless. If it was, would anyone actually want to be a hero? If it was completely devoid of anything happy.

Suddenly, Ace and Luffy were worried about the look the teacher suddenly doned. "All right, whoever comes in last place for all 8 tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with expulsion." The class gasped.

Luffy did, too, until Ace told him it was bullshit. There was no way they'd go through the trouble of the test and then decide a student wasn't good enough by being out of shape and would be kicked out. He said this all very quietly. Luffy bonked one hand in his other, realizing that was the only logical option here.

But most of the class didn't think that, and were freaking out. Midoriya mostly. Ace put his hand on his shoulder. "You won't be expelled. There's no way he'd be able to expel anyone on a whim because they didn't pass his test. Just stay calm and do your best." He said it very quietly so the guy didn't hear.

He had not given off a good impression on either brother. Well, they were in the same class, so they'd suffer together. They linked pinkies, nobody able to see it. Maybe people would think it's weird to hold hands in high school, who knew. They did it because it made them feel secure, knowing they were together and couldn't be separated.

"We're free to do what we want with the circumstances of our students," he said with a scary grin. Ace and Luffy shared a look of confusion, not knowing what to make of him. "Welcome to the U.A. hero course."

Ace and Luffy tried to do everything they could to calm the rising panic in Midoriya's expression. He would fail if he couldn't keep focused and only relied on his fear. He could be a real pessimist. They had thought that part had faded away, but the insecurities came back. Poor guy. So they stopped trying. It wasn't going to work, the only thing he could do was his best.

Uraraka was protesting this, saying it wasn't fair with many students nodding along. Aizawa's answer was pretty much "life isn't fair, especially as a hero, deal with it".

The first exercise was a 50 meter dash. Easy enough, everyone did it their own way. Ace turned into fire and was there in 2 seconds, the fastest so far, even more than the guy who's quirk was literally running fast. Bakugo used his explosions as propellants to get across without even touching the ground.

Luffy's turn came and he quickly climbed the invisible stairs and slid down a super steep slide. 5 seconds. He high fived Ace, who laughed at Luffy's stupid use of his power. "It was fun," he said in a hush so the teacher didn't hear him. They walked to the crowd of students who'd already done it.

"Wow, Ace-kun, you are incredibly fast when you are made of fire," Iida said. He sounded strict but seemed nice enough. Intense was still the best word to describe the way he talked. Ace thanked him and said it was hard to maintain for more than ten seconds. But it was more than enough to get from point A to point B quickly.

Uraraka thought Luffy's way of getting across was funny, and Luffy grinned, agreeing. "But it got me there faster than running, so it worked," he said cheerily. Once Midoriya had passed, running normally, Ace and Luffy walked to him. "Only seven left. We all just do our best," Luffy said with a grin and a rough pat on the back. He wasn't having it, it was like talking to a scared and trembling wall.

The next thing was grip strength. Ace and Luffy knew they'd do well on this without their quirks, which would be useless. They'd been trained by the best. They both ended up squeezing so hard they broke. "Ace, Luffy, stop breaking things," Aizawa said.

"We're doing it as hard as we can, it couldn't handle it," Ace replied calmly. Iida and Kirishima came over and looked at the busted equipment.

"Heh, you guys are pretty strong without your quirks aren't you?" he asked in interest.

Luffy said that they trained a lot with martial arts and endurance training for a while. And they said they spar until they hurt. "What do you mean?" Iida asked. Luffy lifted up his shirt to show bruises on his stomach. "You do that to one another?" he asked in shock.

Ace asked, "Why is everyone so surprised? If you spar for real, you're gonna get hurt, right? What's the point of fighting if your heart isn't in it? Besides, we give permission." Kirishima shouted that that was "so manly!"

Bakugo told them to shut the fuck up. "He doesn't like us," Luffy said simply.

"I gathered that from class," Momo said. Ace thanked her for making a new ball. Midoriya finally did his, and then he hid it. So it must not have been very good. What was he _doing?_ They trained him hard! He should be doing better than this. Ace said, "It's because he's nervous. You tend to forget things when you're uncomfortable."

Luffy nodded, knowing he was right but hating seeing their friend like this.

The standing long jump had Ace fly across it as fire, leaving a trail of glass in the sand. "Holy shit, that's so hot! It turned the sand to glass!" Kaminari said. "Are you safe to be around?"

Ace nodded and lit his brother on fire. They started screaming before Luffy said he felt fine, not a single burn. They all took a relieved breath. Luffy just jumped onto a slightly steep ramp and made it the way across. Midoriya made it actually pretty well by himself. But Ace and Luffy felt themselves regretting showing him their quirks. And how good they were at them. It made them feel guilty that they made their friend feel so weak.

The repeated side steps seemed to be difficult for everybody. No one's power was good for it besides the small one, Mineta, who bounced against two things of stick bouncy purple balls. Luffy tried to use walls to hit himself back and forth with, but it failed. He just laughed at the failure. This was fun! And no matter what Aizawa said or did, Ace and Luffy would stay cheerful.

Next was the ball throw. Ace and Luffy had already done that, Ace's first attempt in a small puddle on the dirt ground. Luffy's was lost. When Uraraka did hers, since she used gravity, it floated away for forever, leaving an infinity sign on the tracker. "Wow! That was so awesome!" Luffy said enthusiastically. She said his was cool, too. Bakugo's explosion went pretty far. Further than Ace's but not as far as Luffy's. He glared at them.

Jiro asked why he hated them so much. "Because we were nice to him. And when he tried to attack us with his quirk, Ace slammed him onto the ground without using his. Since then he's hated us. And when we got accepted here, he got even angrier. I don't think we could ever be friends," Luffy explained.

Midoriya stepped up and Luffy said, "You can do it," firmly. Ace nodded in agreement, arms crossed. He looked down at the ball, clearly having an internal meltdown. It was sad and hard to watch.

Iida said that this didn't look good for Midoriya. "Don't worry, he can do it," Luffy said leisurely. Bakugo argued that of course he couldn't, he was quirkless. Iida was surprised, pointing out he'd used a quirk for the entrance exam. Bakugo didn't know this apparently.

Luffy and Ace weren't paying attention to them, but their friend. The moment he started to throw, Ace and Luffy's heads snapped in Aizawa's direction as they sensed him using his quirk against Midoriya, making his ball land only a few feet away. "Why'd he do that?" Luffy asked quietly. "Does he want him to fail?"

Ace shook his head. "He was going to go hard and hurt himself again," Ace whispered in response. Aizawa's eyes flicked to them for a second before they returned to Midoriya.

"I erased your quirk," Aizawa said, his hair sort of floating up along with his bandage-scarf. "The entrance exam was definitely not rational enough." Ace started biting his thumb nail, Luffy wrapping pinkies and Ace relaxed a bit more. "Even a kid like you was accepted."

Luffy grew angry, something he rarely felt anymore, but was able to hold back and not defend his friend. He was already feeling terrible, why did their teacher want to rub salt in their wound? "You erased my quirk?" Midoriya asked in confusion, and then recognized the guy as Eraser Head. The crowd of students said they hadn't heard of him before Ace and Luffy turned around when they sensed someone watching. They locked eyes with him, seeing it was All Might. He was watching the students. But why was he hiding? The two gave each other shrugs before turning back to watching Midoriya having a crisis as Eraser Head pointed out that his quirk was uncontrollable and he'd end up being a burden to everyone by not being able to move after a single attack.

Ace and Luffy were now very worried, clenching their fists and biting their lips. They wanted to help him, but they couldn't. He seemed to have given up before he was suddenly reinvigorated. Ace and Luffy watched with groans as he used his super strength that they hadn't seen yet only on his finger, shooting it far, far away, 705 meters.

Luffy and Ace clapped and cheered lightly. He turned to Aizawa. "Sensei, I can still move," he said firmly with a pained smile. Yay! He did well for at least one of them! Ace and Luffy were proud. He'd done better than Ace had for his second try. Both of them hurried Midoriya and congratulated him, asking if his finger was okay. He said it hurt but it was fine for now.

"Your power is crazy powerful. You almost used all of it on your arm," Ace commented. "That's why Aizawa erased your quirk. Probably to protect you."

Aizawa asked, "You're very observant." Ace nodded, saying they'd always been like that. Luffy nodded as well. "C'mon, let's go and wait for the next exercise." The teacher let the subject drop, and Luffy turned around to see a shocked Bakugo. That's right, he didn't know yet. Well, he learned there was nothing they could do to change or ignore that. It would probably cause trouble later.

But then he ran at Midoriya angrily. Ace stepped in and redirected his arm gracefully so it was pointing downward and exploding against the ground. It didn't hurt him, but it stopped him from getting to Midoriya. Everyone stayed quiet at that, and Ace and Luffy walked back to the crowd, calling Midoriya to come with them.

He inched away from Bakugo and ran back to his friends. "You know martial arts for real?" Ace and Luffy nodded. "That's really cool. Except for the crazy part where you hurt each other." Luffy simply said no pain, no gain.

"I thought that was just a saying…" Ashido said. Ace and Luffy shook their heads. Uraraka asked how Midoriya's finger was. He said it wasn't too bad but did hurt.

Bakugo looked seriously furious, probably because Midoroya suddenly had a quirk and was no longer useless in his eyes. He had a chance at his dream, and Bakugo didn't want that. He wanted to be better than everyone else. But now that the twins were better than him, he at least wanted to be better than the kid he'd bullied for years.

The rest of the tests were simple and uninteresting, but they did well.

"Okay, I'll tell you the scores now. The total is simply the marks you got from each test. It's a waste of time to say it, so I'll show you." The score had Todoroki, then Luffy, then Ace, then Bakugo. Again, he was behind the two. They didn't care enough to look at his reaction. They just stared at the screen and saw Midoriya was last. But they knew he wouldn't be expelled. "By the way, I was lying about the expulsion."

Most of the class were shocked. There were only a handful who didn't look surprised, including the twins. Apparently it was a deception to see them use their quirks as best as they could. And it was successful, everyone did their best.

The rest of the classes were interesting but not the most fun. Didn't really do much that day. But they seemed to have made friends, as they already had a group walking out of school together. Hopefully Midoriya would recognize soon that the people here seemed mature enough to not make fun of his quirk.

He was asked about his finger and told them about Recovery Girl's quirk. The group were fascinated, Iida especially. He really was intense, even when he was seeming to talk normally. He was most interested in Midoriya thanks to what he saw in his practical exam, when he saved Uraraka when he didn't need to, risking getting zero points in the process.

But the brothers were worried about his health with such a self-destructive quirk. And they weren't like that, so they didn't know how to train him. Gunhead might be able to, but Midoriya might end up destroying the house and that would be terrible.

"Midoriya, you shouldn't get so worked up about stuff like that. Your nerves got in the way of your fitness. You would have been able to do more of the stuff we helped you with if you weren't so nervous," Ace said, though not in a mean way. The green haired looked down and said he'd try not to get worked up. "And maybe someone here could help train you! In private. Maybe All Might, he has super strength, too. Maybe he could tutor you."

Their ride pulled up, and they said goodbye to their best friend and the small group they'd already accumulated. When they got inside the car, Gunhead asked how it went excitedly. Apparently he took an hour off to pick them up and then go back to his duty.

The twins told him about their day, and he was listening so close and making comments and they were sure he was smiling the whole time. They ordered pizza that night while Gunhead was away, and did their homework before fighting again. They made sure to avoid the face as best as possible and didn't go too rough since they might be doing some strenuous things the next day and didn't want any risk that they'd be sore.

"I'm so happy," Luffy whispered when they were going to bed. Ace agreed, saying that school would be fun here, no matter how grumpy Aizawa was. Nobody could make them hate any aspect of life. Even the unpleasant stuff wouldn't bring them down. Perhaps they would be upset about their friend's quirk, but they'd try to move past that and just encourage him.

He was determined when he was more confident, so they'd help him become more confident. Neither wanted their friend to be sad or feel worthless like he used to. He had a quirk now, so he had to make the best of it. There were no switching quirks, and it was abnormal he'd gotten one this late in the first place.

They thought it was funny when he was so flustered when Uraraka started talking with him, and of course she would if he saved her. He wasn't used to talking to girls, even nice ones. Well, he'd get better here no doubt. So far the class seemed nice besides Bakugo. That they would all get along better than their class in junior high. It would be nice to be friends or at least on friendly terms with everybody.


	6. Battle Training

**ASL_lover: I feel your hatred and I agree with it, lol. He's probably one of the worst parts of an otherwise great series. I wish he truly didn't exist, yet I kept him in my fics?? Why did I do that?**

**chickie434: We do get to see them in action!**

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**We see Ace and Luffy working together as heroes in this chapter, so enjoy that!**

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The next day was a full teaching day, not being introduced to the classes and schedules. They had english in the morning, which was easy for Ace and Luffy. Once again, they were the smart ones in class. Along with Iida and Yaoyorozu, they were very smart as well. He complimented them at the end, and they returned it. The smart girl didn't say anything about it.

"It's nice having more smart people in class. Asking questions and all. Most of our class in junior high got kind of irritated when we answered every question. Not that they were going to answer it themselves."

Iida asked how they were so smart. "We only went to our first year of school last year, so we crammed in all elementary and junior high education into four months. And it was awesome knowing we were improving and getting smarter. So we like to keep up or be ahead. It's just nice to feel smart," Ace explained with a smile.

llida looked at them in what seemed like strong approval. "We shall be rivals then," the taller teen announced. Luffy and Ace went along with it, not that they'd try to out shine him. Momo, as she wanted them to call her, seemed smart but didn't look happy about it. It just was what it was.

For lunch, they bought the cheapest food. It was still delicious. They didn't like having Gunhead spend too much on them. He'd done enough, but he had said he had no problem spending on them. He even offered to add a new room to the place so they could have separate rooms. They shot that down. He offered him many things since he was paid well as both a martial arts teacher and a pro-hero.

But food, shelter and care were more than enough for them. And a huge bonus was how he trained them physically and with their quirks.

Midoriya knew why they didn't get fancy lunches, that they didn't like spending their guardians hard earned cash. But the others they sat with wondered why they got sandwiches instead of something really delicious. To the twins, any food was a blessing. They didn't know if they'd always have that mindset. But the years they were on the street did a lot of damage that was still there, but much better now.

"We don't like spending too much of our guardian's money. He works hard for it, so we want to spend as little as possible," Ace explained honestly. They looked at him in pity, like they were poor. "We're not poor or anything, we just don't want to be a burden for him. He adopted us out of the kindness in his heart. That's more than enough."

"You guys are so damn nice I feel like a dick," Sero said. They laughed at that. Saying people at their own school thought it was kind of weird as well. "You had to have had a lot of friends there." They nodded, but said Midoriya was their best friend and they were happy they got in with them.

After lunch, everyone was excited for the Hero Basic Training. Even Midoriya was, which was nice to see. Hopefully he took their words the day before to heart. They wondered if people would think their costumes were stupid since they were pretty much the same only different colors.

They wanted to be partner heroes, so this was a good way to show that that was their goal. They all sat down when the next teacher arrived, much more enthusiastic than Aizawa. Even Present Mic wasn't so loud. He wasn't like Aizawa, he had them call him by their hero name, only sensei before.

"I am… coming through the door like a normal person!" All Might said. The students besides Ace and Luffy were in awe that he actually was there. They had never been fascinated by him. His strength was amazing, but they favored Gunhead and the ones he worked with, even if they didn't get to meet them in person.

And All Might was quite loud. But very happy looking. Even though they'd been living with Gunhead for a year, he still didn't show his face. He never told them why so they didn't ask. It was easy to tell his emotions from his voice and body language after all that time.

All Might walked to the teacher's stand and told them what the point of the hero training was. To train in multiple ways to learn the basics of being a hero. The name of the course was explanatory enough. Apparently they'd take the most units from this class. Meaning you had to do well to get the full amount of points.

The twins exchanged grins. They were in the back of the class with Midoirya, who was so happy. After all, his room was All Might merchandise thrown all over it with posters as well. When they didn't show the same enthusiasm as everyone else, Sero quietly asked why. "We already have a favorite hero," Luffy whispered quietly. He looked surprised but nodded.

Midoriya had never understood why they didn't worship All Might. He asked who their favorite hero was, but they never said. It frustrated him, but he didn't press. When All Might informed them that they were doing combat training, there was a mixed reaction. Some were worried and others excited. Then their costumes came out of the wall, and everyone was happy about this.

"After you change, gather in ground beta!" All Might exclaimed. Ace and Luffy hurried over to get theirs and went to the changing room that was down the hall and had little stalls with curtains for privacy.

Since they wanted to be duo heroes, it made sense for their costumes to be pretty similar. A mostly black bodysuit with combat boots and an homage to their savior, the gloves on the arms were the same as Gunhead's but not the same color. They also both had face shields that clipped around the head and only covered their eyes. Covers just enough to hide Ace's freckles and Luffy's cheek scar.

They each had belts, too, that had pockets to store anything. There were knee guards, as well. Heavy, so slamming one into someone's face or groin would be very painful. The boots' soles were reinforced with steel. Probably heavy to most people, but not them. They accentuated their combat training for the last year, not just their quirks. And the clothes were able to transform with them. Ace's flames wouldn't burn it away, which would have been very inconvenient.

Ace's accessories were white while Luffy's were blue. White for Ace's fire and blue for Luffy's air. They both made sure to have their special wristbands on, under the gloves. When they went out, they found their costumes were pretty plain compared to some like Bakugo's. They didn't need any equipment to further strengthen their quirks.

Midoriya was obviously All Might inspired, but nobody said anything about it. Kirishima asked why their costumes were so similar. "We want to be duo heroes. So we'll work together."

Midoriya asked, "That's why you fight so much? To memorize each others' fighting style?" The twins nodded. That was exactly right. And they'd always know what the others were doing with their haki. They couldn't wait to see other powerful quirks. Not Bakugo's, they'd seen his explosions enough by then. But he hadn't seen theirs and neither had Midoriya, he just knew what they looked like.

"Hey, your gloves and boots look like Gunhead's!" Kaminari observed. They both nodded. Sero asked if that was the hero that they admired the most. They nodded again. They couldn't wait to tell him about this.

All Might explained that they were at this training ground, with many buildings all in varying conditions, because they could work indoors. It may seem like most villain attacks were outside, but they were actually more common inside. Truly intelligent villains hide in the shadows. They'd be doing two on two battles, and Ace and Luffy looked concerned.

Ace raised his hand, but All Might knew what he was going to ask. "You two may work together as you plan on being a pair." Ace thanked him and put his hand down. "Stealth mission?" Ace muttered. Luffy grinned and nodded. This would be fun, they could do it without getting caught.

Tsu, the frog girl, asked why they were doing this without prior basic training. "This is a real battle to know the basics!" He explained a bit more, and then the students all started firing off questions.

The premise was that villains had hidden a nuclear bomb in the hideout. The hero team would be trying to dispose of it. The heroes needed to either capture the villains or or get to the nuclear bomb in time. The villains needed to protect the nuclear weapon the whole time or try to catch the heroes.

Ace and Luffy were confident they wouldn't be caught. They knew where everything and everyone in the building was. They could easily avoid any villains. As far as they knew, they were the only ones with haki. Gunhead told him that even All Might didn't have that ability. It had made them feel like they were actually _worth_ something in the world.

The contenders would be picked from names in a box since heroes often teamed together randomly on the spot. So not knowing ahead of time would be helpful. At least, that was what Midoriya was saying. He seemed confident and Luffy gently punched his arm. "Stay calm this time. You're smart even if you can't control your quirk yet," he encouraged.

He smiled and nodded.

They were chosen to be against team I, with the guy with a tail and the invisible girl. It was a good match up since they'd know where the invisible girl would be. And they were happy they got to be the heroes. They were going to cause as little damage as possible. That's how they'd been trained, since they were always indoor when practicing.

Plus, it would be counter productive to destroy a place you're trying to protect. They didn't understand the heroes who decimated places to catch a villain. Sometimes they did more damage than the villains did.

They went first, which was nice. They got a clean slate. Well, if they were all using the same building. Luffy and Ace laughed when their friend got flustered about being a pair with Uraraka, even though they seemed to get along already. It was mostly because she was a girl, probably.

There was a monitor room for the others to watch the battles, so they would look overly observant most likely. Well, they could say they just had good senses. Nobody needed to know the truth, even if Midoriya did. They trusted him, though, to not give away their secret.

While the twins waited, they only pretended to be looking at the map. "They're setting up on the last floor," Ace said. "Probably will keep one there and one out. The invisible girl would be the best to be sent out, so the other one will defend the bomb." Luffy nodded.

"Do as little damage as possible. We could use your power to get through the ceilings. Cause a distraction with our light ball and sneak right past them," Luffy added. All of the others and All Might were in the observation room, waiting. Once the five minutes were up, Ace and Luffy opened one of the windows without breaking it, pulling it easily from the wall. It made a little noise, but not a shatter.

Breaking windows was unnecessary and would just work against themselves as being stealthy. They were right, the girl was coming out. They followed her direction with their eyes closed and then looked at each other and nodded. A distraction. Ace made the flames and Luffy compressed it, putting them in the stairwell for maximum distraction. There were at least a dozen in all parts of the stairwell.

They hurried to the furthest corner from the well. The ceiling was really tall, but they could take care of that just fine. Ace climbed onto Luffy's back as he walked up the air stairs until Luffy was on his hands and knees with Ace standing on his back. The girl was above them, so they waited for her to pass around a corner.

Ace put his finger to the stone ceiling and used concentrated fire to melt open a hole. He climbed in first with Luffy behind him, and they put the ceiling/floor back into the hole, Ace welding it shut once again. Fixing their damage.

Both of them were silent as they made their way opposite of the other, who seemed to have finally reached the stairwell. Once she was walking down, both of them hurried to another corner and did the same as before, melting open a hole to climb through and then putting it in place.

They did that two more times, and the girl below was getting irritated. "Where are you?" she asked in annoyance, any noise echoing around the building. It looked like she hadn't looked up or seen any of the holes on the floor. When it came to the last room. They both closed their eyes and stayed still, observing where the guy with a tail looked. He was walking in a circle.

Ace sent a signal to Luffy, pointing right under the bomb. If they could get a small enough hole, all they had to do was touch it. Luffy nodded and brought Ace up, pressing him against the ceiling, where he used his whole hand to melt through the stone beneath it, keeping the heat down and flames not on the floor.

Ace reached his hand through the ceiling before bringing his upper body through and touching it was a completely cool hand. "We win," Ace said simply, and the tail guy whipped around. "How'd you get up here so easily?" he asked in confusion.

Ace smiled and said, "Teamwork." They couldn't repair this hole, but they had the others, and went back downstairs, dispersing all of the lightballs still floating. When they reached the window they'd pulled out, they put it back in place and welded it shut so it would stay.

The two gave each other high fives. "We barely did any damage," Luffy said proudly. "And made zero noise! That was such an awesome stealth mission! I bet the others won't be that way." Ace nodded, saying that was probably the truth. And the people watching hadn't seen how strong they really were since they used their powers to the minimum. The villains came out, and the invisible girl asked why they had not fought. Had done everything so neatly.

"We don't want to be heroes that endanger other people or destroy places. We did as little damage as possible," Ace answered honestly.

"Man, I wasn't expecting a stealth mission! Boo," she said, sounding like she was pouting, and crossed her arms. "You completely defeated us. This was supposed to be a battle!" she complained.

Luffy said, "It was a battle in strategy, not brute force." Tail guy nodded, saying that was true. He didn't seem too upset about it. He introduced himself as Ojiro Mashirao. Invisible girl was Hagakure Toru. Ace and Luffy gave their first names. The group of four walked to where they were supposed to be and entered the room with the large screen showing where Ace and Luffy had known the cameras were.

"Amazing, boys! You made a superb team. And did little damage to the building as well. I can see why you want to be a pair, your powers complement each other," All Might praised. He looked to the two that had failed, well, the one he could see and said that it really came to strategy, no matter if it is a physical one or a battle of wits.

Uraraka complained that they'd barely been able to see what they were doing since the camera was lower than the ceiling. So Ace said, "Luffy carried me up his air stairs and I welded holes in the ceiling and floor to make it to the next level without using the stairwell." She asked when they came up with it. "Before starting."

"But you didn't know what it looked like before!" Ashido complained. Luffy pointed out that they got a map in the beginning. "That looked really boring though. And I thought you guys were good at fighting."

Ace said, "We are, but it would have made a mess if we went full out. There was no need to fight if we could do it another way. Besides, heroes that destroy buildings during their fights don't really think about the damage other than infrastructure. What about the important things people have that would be destroyed? Like family photos or things like that."

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Jiro said, "I never thought of it like that." Some others nodded. All Might called them efficient heroes and that they will have a bright future if they kept that kindness up along with their skills. Both blushed and thanked him awkwardly. Midoriya gave them high fives, saying he wished he could have seen it better.

Bakugo was wearing a pinched face, angry like always. The two sat in the back to watch the screen while Midoriya paced nervously. But another was looking at them. Todoroki, one of those who had gotten recommended and didn't need to take the exams. "How'd you guys know where Hagikure was? When you were a floor beneath her." He said this quietly so nobody else heard.

"Could hear her a bit," Ace lied, sounding completely honest. "We got trained in a lot of ways," he added. He took off his visor and put it in his lap. "It's helpful to be observant instead of just running straight into the fire before coming up with any sort of plan."

"I guess that's true," the ice user admitted. They were nervous for Midoriya when it was his turn and he was against Bakugo and Iida. He had Uraraka, but neither of their quirks would do much damage against explosions. Ace reminded their friend of all the training they'd gone through. He nodded firmly, telling them he would do his best.

"That's all you can ever do," Luffy said with a smile. "Good luck!" The pairs left to go to a new building. The moment Midoriya and Uraraka got around the second corner, Bakugo was there, and blew up the wall.

Tsu commented, "He sure is different from Ace and Luffy. He's already destroying the building." Ace pointed out that bombs weren't very effective when indoors. That was true, Bakugo would be weak indoors when it came to not destroying anything. He didn't seem to care about that, but the twins weren't very surprised.

It was no shock to them that he went straight for Midoriya, no doubt thinking he'd been hiding this new quirk all his life. But when Bakugo ran for the first time, Midoriya bypassed his first arm and grabbed hold of it, pivoting and then slamming Bakugo into the floor hard. "We taught him that!" Luffy said proudly. "Go, Midoriya!" he cheered.

Bakugo continued to attack head first and obviously, but Midoriya used everything Ace and Luffy had taught him over the summer. He was composed, not freaking out. After all, there was no threat or punishment if he didn't do well here. The others were impressed with his reaction time and skill without using his quirk.

Mineta, the tiny pervert, asked if they had taught Midoriya that stuff. "Yeah, but he worked hard on it himself. I think the credit should go to him," Ace said simply and kept watching. All Might heard and his grin widened a little bit, but they didn't really notice. They returned to the screen, and Luffy bit his lip once Bakugo got angry. When he was angry he didn't attack smarter, but became more reckless than he already was.

And now it seemed like the fight was personal based on Bakugo's face. Like Midoriya disgusted him or something. But Ace and Luffy were becoming a bit concerned with how violent Bakugo was looking. Almost crazed. They wished All Might would stop the fight. But he didn't, and Bakugo continued to go after Midoriya, saying things they couldn't hear.

All Might tried to stop Bakugo when he aimed his grenade-looking gauntlet and pulled a key from it, sending fire and an explosion down the hallway where Midoriya was! Luffy gasped and Ace was gritting his teeth. Bakugo had destroyed a corner of the building. The kids gasped as well, and All Might shouted their friend's name in worry.

He had ducked under the fire it seemed, and was still alive and not completely fried. Ace and Luffy let out a relieved sigh.

"Sensei! Shouldn't you stop this? That Bakugo's really crazy!" Kirishima said, many students agreeing with him and voicing their support for the fight to end while Midoriya was not badly wounded. "He's gonna kill him!"

"No," All Might said, and Luffy grew angry before Ace took his hand and shook his head. Getting angry would do nothing right now. It was obvious to everyone that Midoriya was in danger. Luffy nodded and relaxed, pinkies linked while they were worried about their friend. He hadn't used his quirk, which was a good thing and a bad thing. Good thing because he might hurt himself again and a bad thing because his quirk could possibly turn the tables at the very end.

"Young Bakugo, the next time you use that, I'll stop the fight and your team will lose!" Bakugo looked surprised at this. They didn't know how. "To use such a large scale attack is only inviting destruction of the stronghold you should be protecting. That is a foolish plan for both heroes and villains! You will lose points for it." Ace and Luffy nodded in approval of the scolding.

Whether Bakugo would take it to heart was to be seen. He just grew angrier it seemed, he kept breaking what Ace and Luffy thought were new records. So he blasted toward Midoriya before fainting and jumping over him before blasting an explosion directly against his back.

"Midoriya!" Luffy said in worry.

"What was that?!"

"How is that allowed?" All Might said nothing.

One of the only very calm students, Todoroki, said, "He doesn't seem like the one to make plans, but he's more subtle than I expected." Ace and Luffy didn't pay much attention to the guy complimenting someone who was trying to seriously harm his classmate and a kid. They were both worried and angry. Angry at Bakugo and All Might for letting it go this far. Gunhead would have stopped by now.

Ace looked at his wristband. He was a much better hero than All Might, so why wasn't he more recognized? He did his best not to think bad things about others, but he did think of people in levels. It was never low enough to be "bad" but there were "better" and "best". The ones below that were neither, but also not bad, per say.

Kaminari said, "He's too talented… too powerful. How is he not at the top?" A few glanced at Ace and Luffy, who made no response to that reaction. When Bakugo hit him harder in the air and then grabbed him and yanked him up and over his head, Luffy put his hands over his eyes.

"He'd be offended if he tried so hard and you didn't watch," Ace said kindly. Luffy nodded and looked again. "If he does get really badly injured, we have Recovery Girl to fix him," the freckled brother pointed out.

Luffy mumbled, "I don't want him getting dependent on that." Students started to beg All Might to end it. Ace and Luffy didn't know what he was getting out of letting it continue this far. Midoriya's life should matter more than his pride. A pro-hero should know that.

Tokoyami said, "These are not the actions of a hero." Simple and true. It was always how Ace and Luffy saw him. They had hoped he'd mellow out when he got older, but he seemed _worse_ here since he could get away with hurting someone with his quirk and not getting in trouble. When Bakugo looked even more crazed, Ace spoke.

"All Might, if your hand is shaking that much, shouldn't you end this?" he asked in an almost cold voice. It was clear All Might wished to stop this. The twin had gotten very used to reading body language. Not just Gunhead's, but their classmates when they couldnt see their faces. All Might's hand stopped shaking at hearing that, but he did not respond.

"What do you think young Midoriya will feel like if I canceled during his first battle?"

"Well, he won't be dead," Luffy said. The others nodded in agreement, but then the subject of worry started running. Kirishima said it wasn't a very manly thing to do, but Ace and Luffy thought it was okay. There was no point fighting a battle you know will kill you. Retreating for only a few moments could change the tide. Make the villain think they were strong enough to make a hero run before they were shocked as a calmer and more composed hero went after them.

Luffy quoted Gunhead, "A short retreat can turn the tide of battle. There's nothing wrong with running as long as you're not giving up." This made the others think for a moment. Some admitted that that was true, but it was also embarrassing to run.

Sato, the one who was powered by sugar, said, "That's a Gunhead quote isn't it?" Luffy nodded. It was a distraction for some to recognize their suits as an homage to the pro-hero. The gloves were almost the same. Fingerless and reaching to the armpits. "I guess it's true though. And a pro-hero said that."

"Midoriya isn't going to give up. Even if he ends up hurt, he will try his best," Ace said firmly.

When Midoriya turned around and he said something determined, and ran at Bakugo with a fist formed, Luffy said, "Told you so," very lightly, smiling. "He got momentary composure and will use it to fight with more conviction. And he also might have a plan, his actions are odd in some sense."

But they were still concerned, and once again the students were telling the teacher that things were looking bad. Yet, he still did nothing. Ace hadn't said anything for a while, just watching with a grim face. Finally, All Might started to tell them to stop before Midoriya's plan was shown. He thrusted his fits upwards, creating a large draft of wind, similar to Luffy's beams, and destroying a huge part of the building.

Ace sighed and said that would be a lot of points taken away, but both were grinning. The wind caused rubble to fly up, which Uraraka hit at Iida like a baseball. While he was distracted by the flying rocks, she jumped and landed on the target. Both of them won. But at what cost? Midoriya was in a terrible state even when everything looked dusty.

When the smoke did clear, Midoroya was broken, bruised and burnt. Never had any of the injuries with the twins was this bad. "Hero team wins!"

Ace and Luffy usually would have cheered, but he was so injured. It was so hard to see their friend in that state. "Was definitely more flashy and intense than your guys'," Jiro said simply.

Ace commented that they also hadn't damaged the building. All Might said points would be taken for that, but they won regardless. And the twins were happy he won, just not with how it happened. But they would express concern but not anger or shaming him. Midorya was taken by the nurse robots, battered and exhausted.

When all the players but him got back, Iida was given the most points. He had done no damage to the building, he was not injured, and he had not acted on his emotions like Bakugo. The offender that everyone now seemed to be a bit wary of, or even afraid of, was glaring at the ground before he looked up and saw Ace and Luffy looking at him. Their expressions were blank.

Of course this pissed him off. He bared his teeth at them, but still the two said and did nothing before turning away from him and looking at All Might. That also made Bakugo angrier, but they paid no attention to it.

Honestly, while the twins liked everybody being happy and friendly with one another, they wished there had been no praise for Bakugo since he was attacking based on emotion and not on the mission. He would be fired if he did that as a registered hero. The attention was turned away from him and onto the next match. It was over almost instantly, as Todoroki froze the entire building and trapped those inside by freezing their bare feet. It even froze over the camera lenses, making things a bit muddled and hard to see. They were unable to do anything.

Luffy said, "Wow! That's amazing. I wonder if your flames could melt it." Ace shrugged. Kaminari commented, standing next to Ace, and pointed out that his flames had melted a metal baseball and thick concrete so it would probably melt ice. Luffy laughed and said that that was a good point. It was boring to see as it didn't last long.

Those inside started to get cold besides Ace, who wrapped Luffy in his flames to stay warm. "That's no fair," Mineta said, teeth chattering. Ace engulfed everyone in his warm flames.

"There, nobody is cold," Ace said easily. Everyone stopped shivering and the girls commented on how soft the flames were. They seemed to trust Ace wasn't going to kill them, and that made Ace very happy. This would be very different from junior high, where you weren't really allowed to use your powers much. Though Ace and Luffy didn't use theirs at all. Still, now they could. It should be interesting.

Bakugo stomped away so he wasn't in Ace's perfectly controlled flames. And they were white, so it was easy to see through them and watch on the screen, nice and toasty. But Luffy peeked to the side to see Bakugo looking shocked. Not only was he failed by someone who barely used his quirk, but there were Ace and Luffy's quirks as well as Todoroki's very impressive one as well.

He had always had a big ego. And it seemed like it was imploding at realizing he wasn't going to be the number one here. Luffy almost felt pity for him, but not much considering how horrible he'd been to their friend. It was practically torture, to be honest.

They were all surprised when Todoroki was able to melt the ice easily, only leaving some steam that quickly dissipated. Ace retracted his flames and nobody was cold anymore. Todoroki's battle was also a quiet one that caused no damage to the surroundings. When he came back in, Luffy said his power was really strong.

"Would you be able to create stairs or ramps?" he asked in interest. Todoroki shook his head, saying their powers were different, as his ice had to be connected to his body or the ground. Luffy could run and make ramps in the air and not needing to make any contact with the ground. Ace commented that he was able to use heat. "Do you use fire, too?"

Todoroki shook his head. "I don't use it but it's possible. It's not as hot as yours seem to be or as refined. I mostly use my ice." Luffy grinned and said that that definitely seemed to be enough for him. He commented that it was a lot neater than the last fight, which had made the building unusable. Luckily there were many other buildings to use. They were all disposable. Really, how long did it take to build this campus? It was huge!

Ace reminded Luffy that there was another match to watch, and they enjoyed the rest of them. None was as flashy or dangerous as Midoriya's had been, and nobody got injured. Tokoyami and Tsu were sneaky as well. But Luffy and Ace had the more stealth one. They hadn't entered the door to get to the weapon, they'd melted it. Plus, their match lasted maybe six minutes. Not as fast as Todoroki's but quick.

And they worked together, Todoroki did it all himself. Well, the twins both thought their class had really interesting powers and they couldn't wait to compare them from now to the end of the year. They were all gathered outside near the entrance and exit of the fake city, and All Might congratulated. He praised them for not injuring themselves or each other besides Bakugo's match, and that they took the mission seriously. "You all did a good job for your first training!"

The students were grinning and already complementing each other's quirks. It felt like a comfortable place. And it was nice being around other strong quirks. So they saw how they could improve their own by watching examples from their classmates.

"Go get changed and meet at the classroom! I must go review the results of young Midoriya's match." But Ace and Luffy froze, looking behind them to where All Might had gone. They exchanged knowing glances. The moment the pro-hero was far from them, his presence immediately dimmed. Was he sick?


	7. The Calm Before the Storm

**chickie434: In the next chapter!**

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**Some new drama in this chapter that will matter later, but not for awhile. Next chapter is the USJ battle! Enjoy~**

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"Yo, you guys coming?" Kaminari asked.

"Yeah," Ace and Luffy said and followed behind, joining the group again, Bakugo pouting in the back. "I hope that we have insurance on these costumes," Ace said, surprising everyone. "They're bound to get torn or messed up eventually. So I hope we don't have to repay them every time."

"Ah, me too! I didn't even think of that!" Kirishima said. "Well, Midoriya's costume is the first to need repair, it seems." They expressed concern for his health, glancing back at Bakugo a couple times before resuming their cheerful and optimistic conversations. Luffy glanced back a few times and each time, Bakugo was looking at the ground.

It had been a big blow to his pride. The whole day, finding he wasn't at school with weak quirks anymore. This place was _made_ for people with strong quirks. He had to deal with that fact, and come to terms with it soon, hopefully.

When they got back to the classroom, Ace and Luffy waited at their desks, wondering how hurt Midoriya was, and if he'd be okay. Everybody was talking amongst themselves before Uraraka walked over, seeing both of them moping. "You guys are close to Deku?" Neither of them scolded her for calling him that, since she didn't mean it in a terrible way.

Ace nodded. "We've been good friends since last year. He was our first friend and we were his. Well, a true friend. Not like some people we know." He laid his head on the table. "I hope he'll be okay," he mumbled sadly.

"Don't worry, Recovery Girl can fix him up. He'll be okay," Uraraka assured them. They smiled at her, but they were forced; they were very worried. Happy that he finally got a quirk, but definitely not happy with the result of it. When they sensed him coming down the hallway, both of them got up and left the room and stood in front of him.

They were looking at him in a slightly angry way. "Why did you do that to yourself? You were burned severely!" Ace shouted. Midoriya looked down, arm in a cast and the other wrapped in bandages. He still had his ruined hero costume on.

"I'm sorry that I worried you. I needed to prove a point, and I just ended up getting really injured from it," he said meekly. Then he looked up firmly. "I won't have you two protect me from Kacchan anymore. I'm not a quirkless loser anymore," he said in a strong voice.

Luffy frowned, and said, "You've never been a quirkless loser," simply. Ace nodded, now holding hands with Luffy to make him feel better. Midoriya looked down and bit his lip.

"I know you don't see me that way, and I'm grateful for that, but everyone saw me that way for years. And I won't let that happen anymore. I _will_ get control of my quirk, no matter how long it takes, and become a hero who can smile and never make others worry about me again!" he said confidently.

Ace walked to him and bonked him on the head. "We'll always worry about you, whether you like it or not. You can't get your friends to not worry," he said. "Besides, we always knew you'd be a hero, even if you didn't have a quirk. Right?" Midoriya wiped his eyes and nodded. The three walked back to the classroom after the green haired composed himself.

When they walked in, Midoriya was greeted enthusiastically about his battle. How intense it was and how he held his own against one of the top students of the exam. Third place, behind Ace and Luffy. His friends didn't stick with him so he could enjoy the spotlight on his own. They didn't get him these friends. He did on his own. They both smiled, Luffy in his seat and Ace sitting on the desk.

Their friend glanced at them, but they both sent him a thumbs up. He was looking happy before he saw Bakugo's empty desk. Ace and Luffy hadn't noticed him leave when they were changing, and hadn't noticed he wasn't there anymore.

"We tried to stop him, but he went home early," Uraraka said. Midoriya frowned and then ran out of the room. Ace and Luffy didn't follow him. Their friend had a volatile relationship with Bakugo. He cared for him since they were childhood friends, but Bakugo was always so cruel. They both felt that it would be better for his mental and physical health if he just completely cut ties with him. Bakugo had shown countless times that he didn't care about or wanted care from Midoriya.

But, they couldn't help it, and closed their eyes to watch what was happening. Or at least sense the emotions and body movement. Midoriya ran across the building and out onto the steps, finding Bakugo slowly leaving. They both froze, Midoriya's mouth moving. Bakugo suddenly had a spike of anger. But then it turned into self-hate and loathing. And it was coming from Bakugo.

It got worse and then he started to walk away before All Might suddenly showed up, running after Bakugo. And he walked away from All Might, the self-hate gone and now back to anger. Some emotions were easy to sense. Negative ones, mostly. They were the strongest. "Yo, what are you doing?" Kirishima asked.

They both opened their eyes and blinked twice. That's right, they weren't being inconspicuous at all! "Doing that kind of thing is relaxing after the day. Like meditation, I guess," Ace said quickly, lying expertly.

"Ah, I get it," Kirishima said. Ace and Luffy got their stuff together and walked off of the campus. Gunhead was busy today and so they offered to take the train, which was easy to get to and get off. The train did speed by a fight with Mt. Lady and another large villain. But it was lost once they passed a large building.

Ace asked, "What did you think of the class? Their quirks?" He was sitting on the seat in front of Luffy while he stood.

"I think some of them are strong, and some are not. A bit pointless. Just a little bit! I'm not trying to be me-"

"I know, Luffy," Ace said in amusement. "Just say your thoughts, we're not in front of people anymore. Or at least, people who'd care." Nobody was focusing on them, on their phones or with earbuds in.

Luffy answered honestly. "I think Todoroki and Momo's quirks were helpful and promising. I have to say Mineta's is just useless and disappointing. I don't know how he got through the entrance exam with that quirk." Ace nodded, saying it was a good point. Then he asked what he thought of Bakugo. "I think that his pride will implode and make the year harder for him than it needs to be. Now that he knows our quirks, and Midorya suddenly has one, too, it'll make him either implode or it will make him realize there's nothing wrong with not being number one. I also pity him a little."

Ace nodded, agreeing with everything that he'd said. They still didn't know the other students' weaknesses, since all quirks had at least one. The brothers had different weaknesses than before they were saved. Luffy's new one was that he could only harden air when he was in contact with it. Meaning he can't throw it like a weapon. Ace's was that his flames were small. Incredibly hot, but small. It took more work to make a bigger plume. He could handle making flames big enough to cover the whole house, but not in larger settings. It's mostly good for hand to hand or close combat.

"I think we did really awesome, and he'll be proud. But man, Gunhead is a lot more likeable than All Might," Luffy said. Ace said he was biased, but did disagree with All Might allowing Bakugo to continue those brutal attacks. He could have told Bakugo to not use his devastating attacks, even if it didn't stop the mission.

"Hey, Ace. School and friends are awesome," Luffy said softly. Ace grinned and agreed. They'd never return to that old life again, even if they were cast out by Gunhead, they wouldn't allow themselves to go back to that life. They'd go to a foster home. Anything other than snuffing out their chance at a bright future. And no matter what, they'd stay together.

-x-

When they got to school the next day, they saw a mass of reporters waiting at the gate. "I don't really want to deal with them," Luffy said. He glanced at Ace and Ace climbed onto his back. Luffy walked up some not so steep air steps and over the reporters and wall, dropping down easily on the other side.

"Your power is so much more versatile," Ace mumbled. Luffy grinned, asking if Ace was jealous. Ace shoved his shoulder and they both laughed. Luffy made sure to say that he liked some of Ace's power's aspects more. And that was true. Having a body that was made of flames kept him from getting any real injuries. Luffy's was better for long distance with the air beams, where he can be high in the air away from everybody.

When they arrived at class, everybody was complaining about the press. "Hey, how'd you get past them, Luffy?" Tsu asked. Luffy explained that he walked over the wall and dropped to the other side. And that he carried Ace.

Kirishima made a noise and said, "Your quirk is so convenient! All I can do is harden myself for moderate defense and offense." When Aizawa walked in, everybody hurried to their seats and were silent. He looked tired, as always it seems. At least he seems to wash his hair, it's not oily considering how long it is.

"Good work on yesterday's combat training," he said in a bored voice at the front of the class. "I saw the video and results. Bakugo, you're talented so don't act like a kid." Bakugo grumbled that he got it. "And Midoriya, you settled it by breaking your arm again, huh? You can't keep saying you can't help it because you can't control your quirk. I don't like saying the same thing over and over. As long as you fix the control issue, there's a lot you'll be able to do. Feel a sense of urgency, Midoriya."

He grinned and nodded. Ace thumped him on the back, knowing he hated the teacher saying anything to bring attention to himself during class. When Aizawa spoke next, he told them, a little too suspenseful, that they'd be choosing a class representative. Ace and Luffy blinked and leaned forward. "They are in charge of the class behind the teacher and organize things. Like the middle boss," Midoriya explained patiently.

They nodded and watched as the class exploded with people wanting to be the rep. Ace and Luffy weren't interested, would rather focus on their other responsibilities closely instead of spreading them all too thin so they were useless. They had homework and school, plus their physical training and workouts, their daily quirk training and then a small time of reading or doing something else leisurely.

Doing so many things was better than being on the street where the only things to do were eat, sleep and stay safe. Keeping themselves occupied was nice. It gave them a sense of worth, especially when they would complete something and Gunhead would be so excited over it. Even when he got home late, he always asked them how their day went.

Iida suddenly told them all to be quiet and basically said "only responsible people can take this job as it requires a lot of work". And also that they should have an election. Ace and Luffy were glad to have one vote for either of them, not enough to be chosen. It would be awkward to have to decline it. Luffy voted for Iida, since he seemed determined. Strict, but also responsible. Ace voted for Momo, the smart girl who got in on recommendation. Midoriya would be too nervous and insecure, so neither of them voted for him.

Yet he got the most votes. Three, while Momo, the smartest girl, got two. Everybody else got one from voting for themselves or someone happening to vote for them. Bakugo got zero, meaning he didn't even vote for himself.

Midoriya ended up being the class rep while Momo was the deputy rep. Sounded boring and stressful. To be in charge of so many people. They looked out for each other and Midoriya. But he really didn't look happy with this. Why didn't he just decline? So now he was standing in front of everyone nervously, while Momo was unfazed. They had no doubt it wouldn't last long before Midoriya chose someone else or gave the position to the current deputy class rep.

At lunch, this time the twins were ordered to buy something other than sandwiches. They didn't understand why, they were more than happy with sandwiches. Gunhead had scolded them about it.

"I appreciate that you don't want me to spend money on you even when I do, but I want you to know that you deserve nice things. Including nice food. So I order you to buy something other than sandwiches. Taking care of you is not a burden, and neither is paying for your things. You refuse so much, the least you can do is let me buy you some good food," he said strongly. It was a strange thing to get scolded for, but they promised they'd buy something nice.

"Oh, you two got something other than sandwiches!" Uraraka pointed out. They nodded, getting something that wasn't a sandwich but was still not expensive.

Ace said, "Our guardian got mad at us when he learned we were buying the cheapest thing. So he ordered us to get something nicer." Then he grinned. "He doesn't need to know we got the second cheapest thing." The table laughed and they ate their food happily, talking about trivial things. Though it was clear to see Iida was bothered about not being the representative. Luffy took a swig of his water bottle and said, "I was the one that voted for you. I thought you'd win, too."

Iida looked at him in shock. "What? You act responsible. A little stern sometimes but still responsible. I thought you'd make a good rep. Not that we really know what you'd do about it," Luffy explained honestly. Iida bowed his head and thanked Luffy loud for his kindness. "It's not a problem," he said, sounding amused and awkward.

Ace said, "Midoriya, you didn't look comfortable at all up there, just give away the position so you don't make yourself miserable." He didn't say it in a mean way, but a counseling way, giving advice. He lowered his chopsticks.

"I am grateful the people chose me, but I know I'm not right for the job," he said honestly, a little ashamed. Iida said he thought he'd make a good one because of his quick thinking. "If that was the case, they should have voted for Ace or Luffy. They had their plan ready before they even entered the building."

Ace replied, "Just because we're good with each other at planning doesn't really translate anything with being organized and a leader. If you haven't noticed, we don't really do anything without one another. That's just how it is. Neither of us wanted to be reps." Luffy nodded in agreement.

Uraraka sighed. "I wish I had a close sibling like you two," she lamented.

Iida said that he was surprised the twins didn't get more votes based on how friendly and kind they were with everybody. Luffy said, "Being kind takes no effort. Being in charge of others does." It was simple but very true.

Ace looked at Iida for a moment. "Hey, I have a question," he said suddenly. "Are you related to Ingenium?" The others looked at him seriously. "You see it, too, right, Lu?" Luffy nodded, and said his costume was really similar and both had fast legs.

Iida looked surprised before he proudly told them about his family of heroes. How he admired his older brother very much. Ace and Luffy listened in interest. They didn't know if Gunhead considered them his kids or just charges, but he was like a father to them, not that they'd ever say that. So they were being raised by a hero, but that didn't make it run in the family at all. That had to be genetics, and they both knew for sure their parents weren't heroes.

"I want to become a hero because I want to be like my big brother. Why do you guys want to be heroes?" the tallest of them asked curiously. Uraraka looked embarrassed before she confessed she wanted to help make her parents live comfortably by getting money from being a hero. It wasn't what either Ace or Luffy predicted. Nobody pressed since she looked hesitant to say anything.

"I want to be like All Might and save people. I wanted to be a hero from the start, even when I didn't have a quirk. And Ace and Luffy convinced me more, that I could be a hero even without a quirk," Midoriya explained. Ace and Luffy nodded.

Iida said, "You know, your complete kindness baffles me." Everyone looked at him in shock. "I just don't understand how anybody could be so kind and humble. You guys have powerful quirks and fighting skills, are smart, but don't brag about any of that."

Ace said, "Well, we didn't grow up in the best of conditions, so when we were taken in, it didn't make sense to be upset or angry anymore. We want to be happy, and being kind to others makes us and them happy."

Luffy nodded and confessed that he didn't understand cruel people. "Why do they like hurting other people? Normal people, why do they want to be mean? That's not a way to make close connections in life. They'll end up all alone."

Midriya asked if he was talking about Bakugo. "Of course." The green haired said, "He's always wanted to be the best, the strongest hero. His dream gets in the way of other things. He's hyper focused on being the best. When you two came, and took him down even without showing your quirks, it made him realize he might not always be the strongest."

Uraraka pointed out that he could just train himself to be the best instead of trying to take others down. "I don't think he can reason like that, to be honest." They were all interrupted when an alarm started going off. An intruder was on campus. Ace and Luffy hadn't noticed anyone, but they also were distracted.

The alarm told them to go outside. When Luffy and Ace saw the crowd outside the door, Ace climbed onto Luffy's back and he walked on air steps above everybody else and dropped down outside, bypassing the crowded and frantic hallway. People were shouting that that wasn't fair. "Once again, your power is better," Ace mumbled. Luffy laughed with a shy smile. It was a lot more practical for outside uses.

Once they were back in class, Midoriya finally said what he and his friends had been thinking. He was not the best for the job. Ace and Luffy had missed anything that happened in the hallway, but apparently Iida had calmed everybody down so they could walk normally. Those in the hallway agreed. Nobody seemed to have a problem.

He stood and said, "If the class rep has nominated me, then it cannot be helped. From this day forth, I, Iida Tenya, promise to do my best carrying out class representative duties." Ace and Luffy smiled, as this class had a really good atmosphere. It felt sort of cozy, and everyone but Bakugo and Mineta had nice presences. Nobody felt evil or greedy or like they were hiding their real personalities.

After everyone was calmed down from that, Aizawa told them that that day's hero training would be different than usual. It would be with three teachers instead of one, and that it would be off campus. Rescue training! The class started to buzz and get excited. But Aizawa, ever the party pooper, told them to calm down and choose if they wanted their costumes or not.

Ace raised his hand. "What is it?"

"If our costumes are damaged, are they insured?"

"If they happen due to school activities, then they will be repaired free of charge," he responded. The others were glad, even though most of them hadn't known to even worry about that. It was because Ace and Luffy didn't like money being spent on them, so they made sure.

Some chose not to wear their outfits since they were restricting, but most including Ace and Luffy wore theirs. They were comfortable and it was good practice to use them while actually doing mock hero work. "When you're ready, get on the bus. The site is off campus." Midoriya wasn't wearing his since it was all ripped up and needed to be repaired.

His was made of regular fabric. Ace's was special for his flames, and both of them had asked for fabric that was hard to tear. And they got it, so they were probably never going to be seriously harmed. The suit parts. The others may be affected, though.

On the bus, everyone was excited, to actually put their hero training into practice. Ace and Luffy were looking forward to working together to save people and not just fighting. They had an ultimate move for fighting where they mixed their powers, but Luffy's was good for escaping and alerting other problems to heroes, since he was high in the air when he did. But they were both physically strong, so saving people would be easy if it was straightforward.

But if it wasn't, then that was what this training was for, to learn to rescue in all locations! It sounded so exciting. Ace and Luffy were sitting side by side, shoulder to shoulder, so they weren't holding hands.

They were sitting across from Midoriya and Tsu, the frog girl. She was nice and blunt at the same time. She never seemed angry or upset. "Hey, Midoriya, I was thinking," she said. "Your power is like All Might's, isn't it?"

Ace and Luffy's faces turned blank when they watched Midoriya's face start to sweat and he stuttered. He was lying. His heart rate picked up, but he was lying. When he said his power was not similar. And when Kirishima seemed to come to his defense and point out differences, Midoriya relaxed.

He looked across from him and saw Ace and Luffy look away sadly. They touched hands, both feeling worthless. Something they hadn't felt in awhile. In a long time. But their supposed best friend was and had been lying. He had told them his quirk manifested very late. But now that seemed like a lie.

"Ace, Luffy, I-" Midoriya said in panic, but he didn't say anything else. And the twins didn't respond. They distracted themselves with their quirks. Making light balls, something that had always been soothing. They learned it at a young age, and it felt nice to do it. But not when it had caused them attention when they were street rats.

"That's impressive. Have you two always worked with your quirks together? And man, Luffy's is so practical! You walked right over that hallway mess," Kirishima said. He was a pretty positive guy. Despite his tough guy looks, he was actually really nice and fun to be around. He was generally a positive person.

Ace nodded. "Ever since we were kids we have used them together. And I'm jealous of Luffy's, too," Ace said with a pout. Luffy just chuckled awkwardly. "He only learned how to harden the air last year by accident when we were training."

Iida asked, "You learned that in a year?" Luffy nodded and said they were fast learners. They avoided eye contact with their lying friend. It actually hurt a lot. Whatever it was was a big secret. Maybe he just didn't trust them like they thought he did. Maybe they pissed him off by telling him they were worried.

Maybe they weren't good friends after all.

They stayed mostly out of the conversations going on, trying to not fall into despair. Just, putting trust in someone else and not having them return it felt kinda shitty. Midoriya was the only other person besides Gunhead that knew about their haki. And he didn't even tell them how he got his new quirk, since he seemed so uncomfortable with All Might being involved.

After all, his quirk came before school started. Before he would have met All Might. So did that mean both of them were lying to the class and they knew one another beforehand? Surely Midoriya would have told them if he met All Might.

Luffy was the one to tell himself and his brother to not think about it. "Later, Ace. After school." Ace nodded and leaned his head on Luffy's shoulder. Midoriya didn't make eye contact the whole way. He knew they knew. But how would he react? He was the most timid of the three. But neither of them wanted to talk to him about it when they felt he wouldn't be honest.

It wasn't a nice car ride there.

When they got off, Ace and Luffy were the first to walk off the bus. Midoriya ran after them, started to talk. "Not now. We don't want to be distracted during this," Ace said, though not unkindly. Midoriya looked very upset, but nodded.

As a crowd, the class headed to the front of the dome that held the practice areas they were to use. Thirteen was there, a well-known rescue type hero who'd saved countless lives. She spoke for a bit, the twins trying to stay focused before she told them to come inside. When they did, awe and interest replaced the stormy feelings inside of their hearts.

"Wow! It's like Universal Studio Japan!" Kirishima exclaimed. There were multiple different zones in the massive building, if you could even call it that. Maybe more like an arena of a sorts. Ace and Luffy were side by side, their visors slid up so they could see completely. They sent a grin at one another.

Thirteen introduced it as "Unforeseen Simulation Join". Or USJ. Aizawa, always the sunshine out of the group, told them to calm down and come inside. Really, was he a teacher? He didn't seem to enjoy it much. Always seemed grumpy and sometimes a little mean.

Hagakure approached Ace and Luffy. "What do you think you guys will be good at?" she asked excitedly.

Ace said, "I can put out fires, so that would be good for me." Luffy thought for a moment.

"Well, I would only be able to evacuate people I can carry at once. So I'm not really sure. I guess we'll find out, huh?" Aizawa told them to be quiet (shut up, you're too happy) and then Thirteen ruined the party as well with true but unpleasant facts. Quirks can kill. Many of them can kill easily. Luffy looked at Ace, who hated that part of his quirk. Fire was destructive. And his was so hot it melted things. So it was even more destructive. That's why he and Luffy matched.

Luffy's wasn't strong by itself in close combat, while Ace's wasn't strong in distance fighting. So they worked together to overcome that barrier both of them had which they couldn't jump by themselves yet.


	8. The Battle of USJ

**chickie434: Lot's of them using their quirks! The fight has arrived.**

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**The USJ battle has come. There is some blood and of course violence in this fight. and some murder, too. Enjoy~**

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Suddenly, chills ran up their spines and their eyes widened. "Aizawa!" Ace screamed and pointed to the direction the feeling was coming from. He didn't understand what Ace was shouting at for s split second before he saw the portal that they now all did. Everyone looked up in time to see it as if the twins were first to _see_ it, not sense it.

"Gather together and don't move! Thirteen, protect the students!" Aizawa said, panicking everyone who huddled into a smaller crowd. Ace wasn't comfortable enough in this situation to form a fire barrier without worrying about losing control. He knew it would be unlikely, but first comes first and it was to protect Luffy.

He cloaked both of them in flames, knowing his power would never hurt Luffy. Even when he was asleep as a kid and his fire came out, it didn't burn his brother. Almost like it recognized him and knew not to hurt him. It was easy being around Luffy because he knew he wouldn't hurt him. They grasped hands tightly and backed into the crowd.

"There are so many," Luffy whispered as more and more presences came, all villains. They could tell by their feelings. They had been around them before, the slimy feeling was nothing especially new. The others hadn't clicked yet that these weren't part of the training until the teacher told them the gist. Villains were invading and they needed to stay safe.

"Ace… that one. The one with the brain," Luffy mumbled. "We can't go near that one."

Kirishima asked what they were mumbling about. "We shouldn't go near the one with the brain exposed. It freaks me out," the younger twin said. He and Ace were now holding one another's' arm tightly. They watched for a bit, all of the students frozen before they started to run. Ace and Luffy automatically looked out for themselves, and Luffy climbed onto Ace back and he raced to the door with fire, leaving a scorching trail behind him.

But suddenly the purple guy that showed up first was right in front of them, and Ace jerked to a stop, both of them backing up clumsily.

"I can't let you get away," it said. "Nice to meet you. We are the League of Villains. It may have been presumptuous of us, but we invited ourselves in to the home of the heroes, U.A. high school in order to have All Might, the symbol of hope, take his last breath."

While the others were shocked, Ace and Luffy were not. It wouldn't make sense for these people to come for the students.

"I believe All Might should have been here. Has there been some kind of change?" He sounded so calm and assured. And he was bad, Ace and Luffy's haki was telling them to get away from him. Three in particular. This one, the guy with hands all over his body, and the monster with the exposed brain.

They were scared. They couldn't help it. They were strong kids, but they were still just kids.

"Well, that is neither here nor there. This is the part I am to play," the portal guy said. Bakugo and Kirishima attacked, but Ace and Luffy knew it was useless. That guy didn't have a solid body, physical attacks were useless.

"He doesn't have a body to attack, you shouldn't get close!" Luffy said. And they were right, the attacks did nothing, and the portal man didn't seem fazed.

"That's right. Even if you are students, you are excellent golden eggs. But my job is to scatter you and torture you to death," and they were enveloped in a purple cloud. They were being pulled apart in different directions.

"ACE!"

"LUFFY!"

Both screamed as they were sent into different places inside the building. Ace landed hard in a rocky area and Luffy fell near the water before forming an air barrier that kept him in place and above the water. "ACE!" he screamed, going into panic mode. Where was Ace? Was he safe? Was he scared? Luffy had to be there for him!

"Luffy, calm down!" Midoriya shouted in the water. Tsu and Mineta landed there, too, but Luffy was out of commission if they needed help. He'd find Ace, finding Ace was all that mattered. He climbed a very tall staircase, but couldn't find Ace. he was being shot at from below, so he didn't stay still in one place.

"Ace, Ace, Ace," Luffy chanted, feeling panic grip his heart. He couldn't be away from his brother, he needed him. Huge tears fell from his eyes before he saw a huge pillar of white flame erupt near the rocky area, getting high enough to melt the ceiling and have the metal drip down. It was a way out.

If he got Ace, they could get out that way! But, they couldn't leave their friends behind. Luffy sprinted through the air and formed a slide to where his brother was. "ACE!" he screamed before falling into the fire and slamming into Ace, hugging him. They were both shaking, but the moment they were together again, the fear ebbed and the panic dissipated. They were no longer shaking, feeling complete and ready to fight.

They were surrounded by enemies, "Bombs, Luffy." Luffy nodded and they compressed flames into tiny, tiny balls before throwing them at the villains, aiming perfect as some landed in their grinning, open mouths. They all exploded from the intense burst of heat and fire. Soon he and Ace were coated in blood.

Luffy looked at his shaking hands, seeing blood. They hadn't meant for it to go that far. Ace grew sick a few feet away, and Luffy rubbed his back. There were bodies all over, and villains screamed at them in fury.

Projectile attacks came but Luffy bounced them all off of solid air shields. With the other hand Ace put both hands open and released fire, where Luffy shot the air into the flames, carrying a wind of fire in the directions he wanted, hurting and scorching the villains to keep them away. They were composed, trying to not kill anyone again.

They ran off, sensing Todoroki nearest, and found an ice covered mountain with villains frozen to the ground. Ace melted the ice with every step so he didn't slip. Luffy walked just above the surface of the solid air beneath his feet.

"What happened to you guys?" he asked, for once showing an emotion other than boredom.

Luffy said, "We made bombs. They ended up in some of the villains'... mouths. And exploded everywhere." He shuddered. Ace pat his back. "Do you know what's going on?" Ace asked Todoroki. He shook his head, saying that he was warped over there and surrounded by weak villains.

Luffy nodded, and Ace said, "They do seem pretty weak besides those three. I think we can take them, but I'd like to avoid any unwanted attention." Todoroki asked who they were talking about. Ace climbed the mountain and peeked over. "The one with the exposed brain. I don't think any of us could take it. A pro-hero maybe, but Aizawa is busy and can't fight them all."

The ice man asked how they knew it was bad. "Do you ever just look at someone and you know you don't want to go near them?" Todoroki nodded. "We're getting really bad vibes from that one. It's obviously not human, as it's brain is exposed to the outside. We should definitely avoid it."

Todorki agreed. "Should we go and try to get help? Ace made a way out."

Luffy looked up at the hole that had been made. "No, running up and over the side would bring us a lot of attention. I'm not planning on dying today. But Iida should be able to get past, he's fast enough and he'll get help much quicker than if any of us were the ones to get out and sound the alarm. Damn it, where is All Might? Gunhead would already be here," Luffy hissed.

Todoroki said, "You guys are related to Gunhead aren't you?"

Ace said, "Not by blood. Don't tell anyone." Todoroki said he wouldn't, as long as they don't tell anyone he'd be Endeavors' son. They were surprised but not shocked. They both nodded, and a secret pact was made between those three. Even Midoriya didn't know who they lived with. Well, he was keeping big secrets from them.

Ace wondered if he was okay. "Should we check on Midoriya?"

Luffy said he'd seen him land with others, so he wasn't alone. "What do we do? We can't go out and alert all of them that we're here and have taken out their forces, but I also would feel wrong to just stay and hide."

Todorki asked if they could do long distance attacks. The twins nodded. "We can mix the fire and ice into a wind burst and try to take many of them out. Or we could use that to create a steam smoke screen. Then we could get to a safer place without being seen."

Ace added, "We can guide us to the next classmate and we can help them out as well, if they need it." Luffy nodded, and the three decided it was a good plan. Luffy created a compressed ball of air that Ace filled with fire and Todoroki shoved ice inside. "Ready?" The two nodded and Luffy tossed the smoke bomb and it erupted into thick steam.

Under that cover, they ran to the next section, which was the one made of broken buildings. They made it without anybody seeing them, and were behind the wall of one of the buildings. "This way," Ace said and Todoroki followed both of them until they found Jiro's group, and Todoroki froze those that had already been taken down to keep them down.

"Are you guys okay?" Ace asked.

The four nodded, and asked what had happened to Ace and Luffy, with all the blood. "A miscalculation on our bombs. We had never tried it before. It was stronger than we'd expected," Ace confessed. The others felt for them, but said nothing. "What should we do? Should we gather everyone? I made a possible escape path."

Momo looked up. "You mean when you melted the wall and ceiling?" they nodded. "That might bring too much attention and attract the warp villain," she said. It was a good point. "But we need to get word out. Melting one entire section might throw them off and all of us can escape at the same time."

There were seven of them. Not much. "We should collect more, but they're on the other side. I don't know if we can get to them," Luffy said. "The three of us figured out how to make a smokescreen, so we'd be able to cover our exit."

Jiro said, "Maybe we could melt the wall and scatter, he won't know which of us has that power. And if he's distracted with us, he might leave the others and they can go get help." It was a good plan, and the only one they had.

Todoroki asked if that was their plan. They all nodded. The twins and Todoroki created multiple steam bombs and fired them off as Ace melted a hole in the building, the screen covering at least 60 feet around the area. The seven of them sprinted out of the building, dispersing. Luffy snuck around the bus and got inside putting on the radio and calling the school.

It picked up. "Hello?! This is Luffy from class 1-A. We've been attacked by a crowd of villains in USJ! They are attacking all of us and we need back up quickly! Their objective is All Might. Please, hurry!" he hissed.

"Roger, we'll come with help as soon as possible." Luffy dropped the receiver and sprinted away. He and Ace hid behind a bush, watching the door for anybody to come out. Suddenly the warp man was behind them.

"That wasn't very smart."

The twins instantly created a bomb and threw it into the purple, which blew up right inside, scattering the purple mass around. "Run!" Ace shouted and the two of them zipped away, Luffy on Ace's back as he left a stream of fire behind them. The presence had not returned.

Because of this, kids started flooding out of the building. "Run, everyone run!" a large group of students hurried out. Iida zipped past. "Don't go over there!" Luffy screeched. "The warp guy is there!"

Thirteen hurried over and sucked the remains into her finger until all of the purple was gone. "Everyone run as far as you can!" she ordered. The kids were hesitant but pulled one another back. Many of them had wounds or dirt on them from fighting. No villains attacked them but All Might was seen zooming past and into the building.

Kirishima stopped. "What do we do? Some of our friends are still in there!" he shouted, looking and sounding conflicted.

Ace pointed out that many of the villains had already been taken out, and that All Might was at the scene and the warp guy was out of action as well. "We might just get in his way," the freckled teen reasoned. "We're following orders, we have to run."

Krishima didn't want to leave, fists balled. He looked back at them. "Come with me. We can melt more walls down from the outside. Then everyone can leave and the villains are no longer confined and able to attack without being in the open."

"What if the whole roof collapses and crushes everyone?" Ace challenged. Luffy gave him a look. "Fine. but we're only going where the students are. We can find them. Be our guard, okay?" Kirishima nodded, and the three ran to the other side, and melted places where the students were. "Ojiro!" they shouted. "Hurry!" The tailed student ran through the opening in the wall.

They continued to the places Ace and Luffy could sense allies. They found more until a large percentage of the class was outside and scattered, helping the injured ones. "There's water on this side, we can't get in there," Luffy said.

Kirishima did a head count. Most were out. They were missing a handful. "Hopefully All Might can save those ones. If they're by the water, melting a hole would just release it all out here and flood."

"Maybe that's a good idea, if there are water villains, we could defeat them. But we should have Todoroki but he's gone somewhere else. Our fruits aren't good for containing," Luffy said, looking at the blood on him and Ace. Kirishima said that plan might not work. It might just needlessly flood the outside and make retreating harder.

"Damn it, what do we do?"

"Oi! Use me!" Kaminari said. "Open a hole in the water and I'll release electricity in it. I heard your plan." It was a good one, and Ace melted a small hole in the wall above the water. Kaminari stuck his hand in and released electricity into the water frying anyone inside. Then Ace melted the whole wall and Luffy grabbed them all at the same time and jumped onto an air step, hurrying them away from the huge flood of water.

He landed them on the bus. "Guys, run!" he shouted to other kids, who evacuated the building that was clearly no longer a building with melted bits of wall everywhere. Villains were following out, but not many, shouting at the kids to come back. But now that they were in an open place, it was easier to fight the villains, they didn't need to worry about their surroundings collapsing on them.

With the students working together, things were going well. And Luffy was crowded with people helping him make bombs. With lightning inside the compressed air, which they threw at approaching villains, acid from Ashido and nails and such from Momo.

They were making sure no one got to Luffy as he threw the bombs and blew people into the air to collapse. Nobody exploded with them, but they were out for the count. They couldn't see what was going on inside, but there were no more villains outside.

"Jiro! Jiro, come here!" Luffy called. She was hidden behind the bus. She asked what. "A sound bomb!" Kirishima yelled that it would be a great way to stun those inside. Jiro looked hesitant before she ran over. She told them to cover their ears and Luffy put his hands in a cupping motion, one above and one below, when she sent the sound of the amplifier on her leg. Luffy compressed it and the small group hurried forward where Luffy let the wave of air bring it right to the middle of the battle before it went off and everybody closed their ears.

Even the scary beast thing All Might was fighting was affected, but held its exposed brain, as if the sound hurt that more than it's ears. They formed another one that Luffy led straight to the head of the monster, which started to bleed, the blood coming from its brain. It died from the next hard punch for All Might, landing hard on the stone.

"We've taken out two of the three baddies. We have to leave the rest to All Might and Aizawa," Ashido said. "Before we're spotted." They all sprinted from the scene and out of range of USJ. Kirishima said that their teamwork was on point.

"Your compressed bombs are so helpful, Luffy. We defeated a lot of enemies with it," he said, panting as they sprinted as far as they could.

Luffy grinned a bit shyly and said that teamwork and trust can turn the tide of every situation. "I couldn't have done all of that without your help, though. Your quirks were really helpful, too. And we were lucky Ace's fire was hot enough to melt the stadium." The others nodded and finally they reached the larger group of students by the closed gate, far from USJ.

When they reached there, they explained that Jiro's sound had affected the brain monster and All Might was able to kill it. Ojiro asked how the warp guy had been captured. "Another bomb was sent in, but it was small in scale. Thirteen sucked in the remains. All that is felt is the guy with hands all over his body."

Ace and Luffy looked worried about Midoriya. They hadn't seen him inside and there were so many presences that it was hard to make out his. Especially because his was weaker than most around him, making him harder to pinpoint. "Man that was scary," Luffy said honestly.

Kaminari was surprised he'd said it outloud. "Well, everyone else is thinking that. There's nothing wrong with being scared, it has benefits, too. Unless it impacts your performance in a bad way, I guess."

The others admitted they'd been scared but once they realized they were in trouble they weren't panicking as much. A couple sat down on the grass. "I hope everyone is okay." Ashido pointed out that they'd saved twelve, and the rest were out of range for them to safely extract them. Plus, they couldn't make much noise or the villains would see them and target them since we were making escape routes.

Many of the others were keeping silent, only a handful saying anything. "Momo, can you make me a bunch of nails, I want to see something." She was surprised but gave him a handful of small nails. Luffy put them in a compressed air ball before he threw it into the space between a tree and the wall. It exploded, embedding nails in the tree and wall.

"I know what's going in one of my pockets. What else do you guys think would be helpful?" he asked, brainstorming with everyone as a distraction. Someone asked how long he could keep the balls compressed. "Until they hit a hard surface.

"You could use some of our powers to help and hide them in your pockets. That might work. And it would be teamwork, so there would be nothing wrong with using our quirks as help. I think we've all learned now helpful teamwork is," Krishima said firmly. "That's so manly!"

Iida was sort of in the corner looking ashamed. "Iida, why are you so upset?" Ashido asked. He said it was because they left some students behind, and he was class rep. He also wasn't the one to send out a distress signal like they wanted, Luffy had gotten on the bus to do that.

"We're not holding you prisoner here, you can go back. But it might bring more attention to those that didn't escape. There are multiple exits, with the sun shining through and showing they're there," Ace pointed out.

Iida was hesitant before he sprinted away. Some started mumbling if it was bad to run away or not. "You can all make that choice individually. As a group, we would bring too much attention, and the villains would realize just how many had slipped away. It's doing them more good to not alert them to the students retreating. They could possibly go even harder if they knew so," Momo explained.

"Wait! Can we wait here, for everybody?" Kirishima asked, all of the others nodding or voicing agreement. They were looked at critically for a bit before nodding and hurrying to the scene. Momo finally asked. "Luffy, Ace. Why are you covered in blood?" she asked quietly, getting everyone attention.

Ace looked down. "We were both panicking, and made bombs that were too compressed. The ones that make direct contact with the villains blew them up. We've never made bombs that compressed before, so don't worry about the ones sized as baseballs or bigger. These ones were the size of marbles. I was panicking and so my power went out of control. We didn't mean for this to happen," Luffy explained with a wobbling voice. He put his head in his hands, breathing deeply. Ace was shuddering, too. They were very disturbed.

"It was self-defense and an accident," Momo said kindly. They both said they knew that, but they'd _killed_ people.

"Thirteen was right. Quirks can kill easily," Luffy muttered.

Ace asked, "Can anyone get the blood off?" They all looked sad, but not afraid. After all, Luffy just proved that he could use his quirk just fine and with control. But nobody had a quirk for that. They didn't have anyone who could use water in the first place. They shook their heads and Ace sighed.

Luffy asked, "Do you think Midoirya's okay?" Ace frowned and said he didn't know.

"All Might, Aizawa and Thirteen are there, not to mention the people going to help. And the scary monster thing was taken out by Jiro's sound bomb. If Midoriya wasn't hurt before they helped, he would be fine now. Probably broken some bones, though. I'm still mad at him."

Luffy nodded. The others were talking amongst themselves, so they didn't hear Ace and Luffy's conversation. "He lied to us about something big. We used to hide things from him, but not lie. Never lie. He… didn't tell us something super important but lied instead. I… don't know how to feel. We've never encountered something like this," Ace said sadly, voice full of hurt.

The younger twin curled into a ball. "It made me feel how we used to. Worthless and unwanted." Ace knew the feeling and agreed with him. "I don't want our own friend to drag us down like this. I need a break if he's not gonna tell the truth." Ace looked at him sadly and put his arm around his brother's shoulder.

"If you need a break, I do, too," he said nicely. Luffy leaned his head on his shoulder. Their outfits weren't ripped or burnt, but they were stained with blood. Washing them should get it off, though.

Uraraka went up to them, having been quiet and in the back of the group. "Are you worried about Deku?" They both nodded. "Then why aren't you going to help him?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Ace looked down. "We did all we could think of. We can only hope he finds an exit. Again, bringing attention to the fact that we all escaped, meaning we defeated the villains, would make the leaders angry and go into a frenzy. If Midoriya is still in there, as long as he doesn't do something stupid, I have faith that he will make it out. Probably with some broken bones."

Uraraka said, "What if you're wrong?" She didn't sound accusing.

Luffy answered, "Then we'd regret it for the rest of our lives. But All Might has been there for at least ten minutes and Aizawa sensei is there. We took out two of the big ones, they only have the fodder and hand guy to deal with." Luffy looked up.

Uraraka looks down. "You're right. We just have to have faith in them and Deku. He had a great strategy with me in our battle." Ace and Luffy smiled, though they were tight. Of course they cared about MIdoriya's safety. But, for them, they would _always_ choose one another first. There was no life without each other together.

It was taking too long, and they were all getting impatient. "I'm starting to think this wasn't the best plan," Ace said. "Why are they taking so long?"

Kirishima pointed out that there were still a couple missing from the group. "Should we go see the problem?" The students looked at one another. "The strategy before was pretty good. We could fight long distance with Luffy's bombs."

Uraraka said that was the best course of action. So, those who had taken part in throwing the bombs sprinted back to the building and saw that the nomu had gotten back up somehow, even though its brain was bleeding badly and it was sloppy. They'd thought for sure it was dead. It was attacking All Might and Todoroki said, "Change of plan," and iced out and up the Nomu's body, stopping it from attacking all might.

Villains around were getting up, injured and disoriented. Nobody caught the group as they were now crawling on their bellies not to be seen. They needed the pros to get here already. Plus, there were some students who hadn't made it out yet. But they were focused on helping All Might right now. Once they were at a good viewing point where awakened villains couldn't see them, they formed a plan.

"It reacted badly to sound before," Jiru said and they formed a compressed ball of sound and threw it direction into the nomu's open mouth as it made angry noises. This time, it worked well enough that they were positive it was dead. The whole head blew to pieces, covering poor Midoriya, Bakugo and All Might, who was injured. Hand guy grew confused and then furious, shaking in rage.

They hid behind the wall, not wanting to get caught and distract All Might. "We can inch around the back and aim for the hand guy. All Might seems injured," Kaminari suggested. The group of five walked quietly behind rubble and around before Ace said they were making smoke screens and would attack directly when the hand guy wasn't looking. He already had something covering one eye.

"How will you know where to go?" Jiro questioned in a whisper. Ace replied to just trust them. They made a huge ice and fire bomb that Luffy compressed tightly. They counted down from three and smashed the ball in between them and the remaining enemy. The brother dashed forward, and didn't use their quirks, but broke his arm and restrained him, flipping him over their shoulder and slamming into the ground.

Luffy and Ace knew the steam was dissipated and dashed back out without being seen. But, somehow the portal guy was there, not in front of them, but beside the hand guy who was furious. The small group slowly made their way out of the stadium and around the other side to another hole, hiding there as well. "We caught that guy. Did he escape Thirteen's black hole?" But they got the nomu, which was the most important at that moment. With the hand guy injured and the nomu gone, he was on the defense, seeming hesitant and uneasy. Everyone stayed where they were, not making a sound.

They were about to attempt another throw before the heroes arrived, finally, and All Might was frozen in place, his strength depleted, Ace and Luffy could tell. So, the hand guy was shot by Snipe, injuring him from a distance. The kids stayed still and silent, only hearing the one sided battles.

Thirteen started to suck in the warp guy once again, but they left too soon for her to get much.

They all sighed in relief and gave each other high fives. "Our teamwork is awesome," Kaminari said brightly.

"Children, Come out," All Might said. Bakugo and Midoriya were there, panting from fighting themselves, with brute force and no real plan. Their plan had all been formed together, not just one of them. "What were you doing?"

Ace explained, "We created bombs of sound and other substances and threw them. One of the sound ones landed in the nomu's mouth and blew it up." They were asked about the attack on the hand guy, whose name they didn't know yet. "Using Todoroki's ice and my fire, we created a steam bomb. Then me and Luffy attacked when he couldn't see us through the haze."

Luffy grumbled that they thought Thirteen had captured the warp one. "You are very smart to have stayed unseen and were a sudden distraction. I commend you on your strategy." Then he turned to Bakugo and Midoriya. "I commend your bravery, but it was reckless, young Midoriya and Bakugo. I don't want you doing something like this again."

As he scolded and complemented them, the other teachers and pro-heroes arrived, finally, and took down the villain fodder easily.

Bakugo hissed and Midoriya saddened. He looked to Ace and Luffy, who turned around with the other students and they headed back to the others. The building was severely damaged by the melted walls, the ceiling starting to collapse on those areas.

Once nobody was inside, the building had the ceiling collapse where people had been burying the fallen bodies of the villains. And Ace and Luffy were still covered in blood, even if it was mixed with sweat on their faces. They headed to the gate where only those who had not been left further away for safety. Only a handful of them. The pro-heroes had gotten past the group though, so they knew they were all safe.

"Young Ace, Luffy, please come here." They heard All Might say. They approached, not sure what he'd say. Aizawa was being treated and All Might had to go, but he said he needed to tell them something. "How did you get the blood on yourselves?"

They looked down, balling their fists. "We were messy and scared for a minute, and Luffy's bombs were too small and aimed too accurately. They-the villains exploded. One even got in a mouth and she exploded all over us," Ace said with tears. "W-we didn't mean to, it was an accident. We're sorry."

All Might took both of them into a hug. "You did not kill them because you wished to. You have a conscience. I know how hard this must be for you since you are both against destruction and causing pain. Do you best to learn from this, and move on, knowing you will work to never have something like this happen again.

"I am proud that you saved your fellow classmates and then helped turn the battle from a distance. Your teamwork is commendable and I am proud of it. I will tell the pro-heroes this story so you don't need to. You have each other, and both of you are safe and alive," All Might said kindly. They both nodded and walked back with the other students to wait.

They wiped their tears away, shoving aside their pain and guilt. They weren't monsters, they felt terrible about it. And they didn't do it on purpose, it was self defense. They held hands tightly. Then they saw Midoriya waiting for them in a more secluded corner. They dropped their expressions, and held each other's hands tightly.

"Ace, Luffy, I… I don't want to lie to you, or keep things for you. I want to tell you, so bad. You never lie to me. I can't tell you about my quirk situation. It's not up to me, I've been told not to say a thing to anyone. Including my best friends. Please believe me, I want to tell you. I've asked them if I can tell you and they said no," Midoriya explained, eyes wide in desperation.

Ace thought for a minute while Luffy looked at the ground awkwardly. Then Ace looked at him with challenging eyes. "You got that quirk from All Might didn't you?" Midoriya's face went white. He stuttered out a "h-how?"

Luffy knew what Ace was saying was right as everything suddenly clicked. "Quirks have never manifested so late in someone. You seem to be All Might's favorite. His presence grows weaker every day as yours grows at the same pace. You both have super strength, and your moves' names are the same," Ace listed. Then his face softened. "You know we wouldn't have said a thing, right?" he asked quietly.

Midoriya nodded, and wiped his tears. "I'm so glad someone else knows," he cried. "I couldn't even tell my mom. I'm sorry I lied, please forgive me," he blubbered. Ace and Luffy hugged him and promised they wouldn't say a thing to anybody. Luffy asked if All Might would be mad if he knew they knew.

The most timid of the bunch said, "We've been in contact for a bit, so he knows how much I trust and treasure you. And I wasn't the one to say it, you guys figured it out. I wish I was as smart as you." Then he smiled. "I'm sorry that I made you guys so upset. I could see it on your faces, and you guys held hands. You always do that when you're feeling strong emotions. I'm sorry I did that to you."

Ace and Luffy were swarmed by students, pushing Midoriya a bit out of the way. They gushed about Ace getting everyone out and them all working together as a team to help the others. And about how they helped with All Might's battle. Bakugo was pissy with this, growling out that he had helped fight with All Might and they just barged in.

"Well, nobody was taking out the nomu," Jiro pointed out. "The sound bomb had worked before, so we just tossed in into its mouth to kill it that way. It was common sense to form a plan before acting recklessly," she said bluntly, pissing Bakugo off and telling them to shut up.

The police came over and said that they should return to their classes, and informed them that the teachers were all alive, but that Aizawa was in serious condition with many injuries. All Might and Thirteen would heal. But none of the students were severely injured but for some light scratches.

They went into the busses and back to the school, all of them pretty quiet. "My parents are going to be so worried," Uraraka said, breaking the silence. Most agreed with her, that theirs would worry and maybe doubt U.A. Ace and Luffy knew Gunhead would be freaking out but would still trust U.A. and let them continue going there.

The two were right and were there to pick them up immediately after school got out. They climbed into the back seat. "We aren't injured at all," Ace said quickly.

"What the hell happened?!" Gunhead demanded, still parked so he would be able to focus on driving safely after knowing everything was fine. They explained the situation, from the beginning of the day to then.

"We… we killed people," Luffy confessed. "It was an accident, the bombs were too compressed and too close. There… was blood all over us," he whispered. Gunhead turned around, and took both of their hands.

"Then do your best to never let that happen again. Determine and hone your powers so it isn't easy to slip up. Ace can control his flames' temperature to not burn certain things. I don't know if your new bombs will work like that, but learning to keep their intensity low or high is important. And I am proud of your teamwork. Heroes need to work together, not just you two working together," he said firmly but kindly.

Ace asked if they would go to jail for it. "Don't worry about that. The circumstances were abnormal. Using your abilities to keep safe and protect one another were important. And going back, while it might be looked down upon by officials, nobody but the nomu were very injured by your powers. You and your friends had control and used it to your advantage. I am proud."

They both smiled small smiles. They wouldn't tell him about Midoriya's secret. It would stay between the four of them. The two brothers, their friend and their teacher. He had redeemed himself in their eyes from when he let their friend get very injured. Still not as much as Gunhead, but that was to be expected. Gunhead saved them in a way no other hero could. So of course he was their favorite and inspiration.

They had a feast that night, though the brothers didn't eat too enthusiastically. They were still upset, but were trying to move on. It was self defense, those people were aiming to kill them. They didn't like that they'd killed, so they didn't feel like monsters.

If they had been happy or didn't care, then they would be monsters with no conscience.


	9. Sports Festival Part 1

**chickie434: Just wait for the future. So much angst and pain mwahaha.**

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**Ahhh! I'm so sorry! I thought I posted this chapter but I didn't! It's so late and now all of my stories will be one day later. Fuck, I'm so sorry.**

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The next morning, there was no school and the only thing on the news was about the USJ incident. Luckily, none of the students' names or faces were leaked. None of them wanted that at all. It was the weekend now, and so Ace and Luffy spent it on an empty and dry baseball field. Luffy was making his compressed air bombs with Ace's flames inside. Hey, it was a new move, so a bit hard to control.

But like everything else, he was a fast learner. The smaller the bomb the bigger the blast. They decimated the ground, burn marks all over the sand. They weren't damaging anything else though, so nobody could complain much, and there was nobody around either.

They put rocks in the balls, which were like little tupperware containers until Luffy wanted them to close up. Finally, his quirk could be a long distance type. And Ace was happy for him, even if he was a bit jealous. But, their teamwork with it made the bombs stronger and more destructive. The more flames in the smaller ball the bigger the blast.

He could put anything in his surroundings inside, which were incredibly helpful. They put household objects in it, and it worked with water as well. For this part, they went to the beach, Gunhead insisting they text him every hour for him to know they were okay. Two texts that would vibrate in his pocket and tell him they were fine, three if they weren't.

For this part, Luffy filled various sizes of balls with gasoline, and threw them at the same time Ace shot flame, causing huge explosions as fire clung to the spraying drops of gasoline. In the pockets that Luffy had in his suit, he would store nails, a little bottle of gasoline and premade bombs from he and Ace. They didn't seem to activate when he held them, even if he accidentally squeezed too hard.

That weekend had great progress in honing that attack and incorporating Ace's with it. When school started, everyone was excited to be back, and Ace and Luffy were in a great mood. Midoriya asked them what they were so happy about, and Ace explained that they'd made great improvement of control with Luffy's new move.

"Putting gasoline in the balls and making them explode with blast a fire following from Ace created a huge explosion. It was awesome. And he can compress them without anything in them, but they just are shocking. They made loud pops that were uncomfortably loud when close. The bigger the ball, the louder the pop," Luffy explained.

"Wow! That's amazing," Uraraka said, and Luffy smiled a shy smile. Bakugo made his signature, "Che" noise.

They were all talking amongst themselves, mostly about the news coverage and luck that they had teachers at the USJ attack to protect them. Ace and Luffy were glad both of them had not been seen. They were hiding when they attacked the main force. The warp guy that appeared in front of them suddenly barely had time to see them before they made a bomb and tossed inside of him. Hopefully they wouldn't recognize the two.

After all, out of everyone, they got in the main villains' way the most. Aizawa surprised everyone by being the teacher so soon, wrapped in bandages head to toe, even over his face with both arms in slings.

But he told everyone that the U.A. sports festival was soon. Most got excited, while Ace and Luffy hoped he explained it more. There was none at their first year of school, apparently every two years for junior high. But the others expressed worry about having something like that after the villains easily got into the USJ. It was an obvious worry that dampened the mood completely.

"Don't worry. Apparently they see this as a way for U.A. to show that our crisis management system is solid rock by holding the event. Security will also be strengthened five times more than the previous year. What is it Luffy?" he asked when Luffy raised his hand.

"Don't you think it's a little selfish of the school to hold a big event like that after USJ for the students who are uneasy or still scared about what happened?" he asked, seeing the reaction in Mineta.

Aizawa said, "That's why the event is not being held right away. Anyway, it's important and a big chance for students to show their skill. It's not an event to be canceled over a few villains." Apparently the U.A. sports event was one of the biggest events in the whole country. After the olympics weren't popular anymore, the sports festival was the new version.

Ace remembered that day. Gunhead had told them they should watch it, but Ace had been sick and Luffy hadn't left his side, back then they hadn't had the TV in their room, so they missed it.

"Of course the top heroes around the country will be watching, scouting for talented young heroes." They were told that this was a big opportunity, and to take it as an advantage to go somewhere in life.

"One chance a year, a total of three chances. No aspiring hero can miss this event. If you understand that, don't lack in your preparations!"

"Yes, sir!"

Later in class, everybody was gushing and talking about the event while Midoriya explained what it was like. Different activities using their powers every year, while each year had a fighting competition to weed out the weaker ones to make it to the top. Ace and Luffy grinned at each other.

"Let's take both top spots and then fight each other! That sounds so fun," Luffy said, eyes bright. Ace nodded in agreement, saying they could also incorporate their fighting skills. "It'd be safest to fight each other since my flames can't hurt you, so I won't slip up!"

"And any bombs I throw won't kill you, either," Luffy replied. Some others were listening and just were amused by their mindsets. And also that they made sure they wouldn't hurt one another severely. Sure, bruises were expected. Well, they had Recovery Girl if something went wrong. Bakugo told them, "There's no fucking way you'll both take the top spots."

Ashido said, "I don't know, Bakugo. They scored highest on the entrance exam, got more points in the battle simulation. Not to mention all the times they beat you in junior high without using their quirks."

"Shut up! I'll kill you!" Bakugo shouted, making some laugh.

Ace said, "Well, if we don't place the top spot, hopefully it will be fun." Luffy nodded in agreement. Jiro asked if they would take it seriously. "Who says we can't take it seriously without having fun?" The others were quiet before they agreed. If they were going to lose anyways, why not make an impression and good memories while doing so?

Then Uraraka suddenly got serious and creepy. "I'll do my best!" she roared angrily. The others halfheartedly agreed, not knowing why she was acting like this. Ace shrugged when Luffy looked over.

Ace and Luffy left with Midoriya when he asked her why she wanted to be a hero. "Remember, she said she wanted to do it for money," Ace reminded him. When they were having lunch that day what felt like years ago.

She looked awkward. "It sounds bad. You all sound so wholesome with your goals. I want to help my parents, whose construction company is not making any money at all. We're flat broke. I want to help them however I can."

Ace said, "Well I don't think that's a bad reason. You still want to be a hero, just one specifically for your parents, right?" She looked at him and nodded, wearing a small smile. She swore to do her very best.

"Thank you for putting it that way," she said with a smile. "Now I don't feel so bad. A personal hero!" The others nodded encouragingly. Ace and Luffy turned around when they found All Might's presence rushing over.

"Young Midoriya is here! And young Ace and Luffy! Want to eat lunch with me?" he asked in a way that they probably couldn't decline. But Ace and Luffy didn't expect themselves to come as well. They said goodbye to Iida and Uraraka and followed All Might to the teacher's lounge. Ace and Luffy looked to their friend, who also had no idea why they were included.

When they sat down, he spoke immediately to Ace and Luffy. "So, you two figured out our secret?" They awkwardly nodded. "And you won't tell anyone else?" They shook their heads.

Luffy said, "We don't really care about the reason. It's not our business. We just want you to train him so he doesn't hurt himself anymore. And not gamble on his safety like you did with the battle simulation." He said it firmly and with a hard look. Midoriya looked like he hadn't known it had upset them so much.

All Might admitted that he had let it go on too long, and that he was incredibly injured by the end. Ace scolded Midoriya for being too aggressive and desperate. The green haired look down. "We know you can do it, just don't go past your known limits. Hurting yourself will dim your reaction time and distract you with the pain."

"I know…" he said meekly.

The teacher started to steam and they stood up. "Wait, young Ace and Luffy. How did you know I was growing weaker?"

Ace and Luffy said nothing for a moment. "We'd rather not share that. Excuse us," Ace said and they left the room.

They hurried to the cafeteria to sit with their friends. "What was that about?" Uraraka asked.

Ace said, "He had some questions, but it was mostly to talk to Midoriya. Don't know what they were talking about, though. Look, he can't get mad, we bought something a dollar more than last time." Luffy nodded, and they ate their lunch, talking leisurely about how the four of them would train for the event.

Iida asked, "What will you do if you are both at the top?"

Luffy replied, "There's little chance of one of us defeating the other, so probably to get one of us out of the ring. But, I'm happy to get second place as long as we're at the top. It'll be fun, people shouldn't be so serious. Do hero agencies want boring people or capable ones that are charismatic? I know which I'd choose."

Iida said that if he lost, he'd be rooting for them both the most. They thanked him with grins. Then they talked about how they'd be practicing. "I think endurance training would be the best. Running and jumping. There's bound to be a race." Uraraka said that was a good point.

When school was ending that day, they couldn't get out because a swarm of other students were blocking the exit. They couldn't get out of the classroom. Iida asked why they were there. It looked like there would be a confrontation. If there was, they'd rather not be a part of it. They wouldn't show their personalities or quirks if they were going to be fighting these kids.

Bakugo was right when he said they were scouting for them, trying to see their weaknesses. But Bakugo wasn't friendly to others, (which wasn't a new development) and started insulting them, making them all look bad.

"C'mon, let's go, Lu. This isn't gonna look good," Ace commented. They both got their bags and Ace climbed onto Luffy's back, and they slid down an air ramp and to outside, going to walk around the building to leave.

-x-

The next two weeks Ace and Luffy divided their time. One week to spar with Gunhead as hard as they could, as he really wanted them to do well, would be so proud and happy for them. "I already know you'll both be great heroes, and not just from your quirks. So show the world the kind of people you are."

That inspired them to do their absolute best to get to number one and number two. Even if they didn't know about their relationship, the two wanted to make their guardian proud of them. And have fun, too. So one week of endurance and fighting, the other for their quirks.

The day the festival did come, most of the class was nervous, but Luffy and Ace were excited, both cheering each other on. "You better make it to the top with me. Then I'll battle the ultimate opponent!" Ace said firmly.

Luffy grinned. "You think you'll beat me? How haunty, Fire Pants," he joked. They started laughing. Mineta demanded to know why they were so upbeat and not nervous. "Well, would being nervous do anything to help us?" he asked. The class was silent. "Besides, only one of us needs to win for it to be a victory. Because that will show that both of us are in the right direction!"

He and Ace gave high fives. Nobody attempted to burst their bubble, knowing they'd deflect it and nothing would change. Then Iida slammed the door open, asking if they were ready and that they were about to go out. Ace and Luffy both rushed out excitedly, hearing complaints from the others about being jealous.

When they heard to go from Present Mic, Ace and Luffy ran out before everybody else, looking around at the crowd in awe, bright grins on their faces. "This is gonna be so awesome," Ace said. The other students walked out regally, not nearly as enthusiastic.

The other classes came out, and still no one was as enthusiastic as the twins were. They would win on enthusiasm if that was one of the contests. Once all of the first years were gathered, Midnight was on a stand, and declared it was time for the player pledge. "Representing the students is Luffy from class 1-A!" Ace pat his back. Luffy wasn't nervous at all. He was the top performer at the entrance exam, so he was the one to speak.

Luffy walked up the stage grinning and stood at the microphone. "We might all have different backgrounds, and different quirks, but we're all here for the same reason! To be heroes! So watch us all do our best to climb to the top!" and he thrust a fist into the air, beaming. Everyone in the audience erupted into cheers. Then he turned around. "All my fellow first years! We're all gonna do our very best no matter how it competes with everyone else! Shine in your own way!" and even they cheered.

The crowd loved Luffy apparently and he walked off the stage to stand with Ace, giving high fives. Mineta demanded how they can be so positive and how he wasn't nervous at all. They just winked at him.

Midnight spoke through the cheers of the crowd and told them some not so encouraging things, like that they drown in tears here, and then dramatically had a screen announce what the first activity was. An obstacle course!

"Yes!" Ace and Luffy said. "Told you the endurance training would be good!" Ace said. "You better not fall behind."

"No way," Luffy replied.

Midnight told them that the school was about freedom, and as long as they stayed on the course, they could do whatever they wanted. Soon the entire group of first years stood in front of one gate. Ace and Luffy had been the first to get there, the only one running, so they were directly in the front, bouncing on their toes.

"Start!" and Ace and Luffy were already sprinting faster than any normal person could while the others were struggling to just get out of the crowd. Then Todoroki came out freezing the ground and stopping all of them. But he wasn't near the front yet, he'd lost precious seconds. Then more of their class followed. The two were past the first obstacle already, Luffy forming air steps and running over the bots like the ones they'd easily destroyed during the entrance exam. Ace turned himself into flames and burst through the cracks. He left them perfectly intact.

"Nice!"

"You too, bro!" They cheered for each other. Luffy changed his power into a slide and slid above Ace, laughing.

"I told you this would be fun!" he said before he started running again. Running on hardened air for him was like running on a road or dirt. Not slippery or wobbly. He could only see them from above though. So always from his perspective. They heard ice from behind.

"Oh, Todoroki is on his way! They lost precious seconds from stopping those bots!" Ace called, and they were at the next obstacle. They could both hear Present Mic and Aizawa talking about them, the first two. They were the most enthusiastic and friendly ones of his class. They strived to be a duo and also did their best to make little damage and inconvenience others and themselves, which was why they passed the bots without doing a thing.

"They're close, and if one of them wins, they both win," Aizawa said in a bored voice. Ace and Luffy grinned, before Ace turned into fire and Luffy blasted air behind him so he could slide quickly along the air, him and Ace competing for who could be fastest.

Nobody seemed to notice the small balls Luffy was leaving behind all over the battlefield. They could hear loud popping and screams, Luffy laughing. The next instance was easy for them. Luffy just kept running over the ravine while Ace went as fire, though he burnt the ropes that connected them to one another, dooming the students without really meaning to.

"Ace, you're mean! You burnt the ropes!"

"You're the one planting bombs!"

They both laughed, not out of breath and keeping up a near lead, almost tied. Luffy was still blasting air behind him to push himself forward. Nobody was close to getting to them as they completely bypassed each obstacle.

When they arrived at the minefield, Luffy laughed at Ace. "See you at the finish line!"

"Oh, no you don't!" he shouted and closed his eyes to enhance his haki, bouncing from one tiny safe spot to the next, not causing any to explode. Luffy was still ahead, but Ace was close behind. He heard Present Mic shouting about how expertly Ace was avoiding them, though he didn't see his eyes were closed. He turned back into fire and was on his way, though Luffy was way before.

"I'm gonna win~" Luffy teased loudly as he sped forward. "Hey, Ace! There are gonna be some big booms soon!" Ace gasped, and asked if he had planted shock bombs. "Yup! And disturbance to the ground and they all go off! Hahaha!" Luffy bragged proudly.

Very soon, huge explosions were going off, throwing everyone into chaos. Present Mic asked what was going on. "Luffy can create air bombs. He most likely left empty ones that reacted to any movement, and they all went off when one went off, causing a chain event with all the mines. It also wasn't noticeable at first but Ace's fire burnt many of the ropes, stalling the others. They may not be using their quirks flashily, but definitely efficiently," he explained.

It was only a few more seconds before both of them cleared the finish line, Luffy doing a flip from his high step and onto the ground. They high fived each other. "Nice! That was awesome!" They put their fists in the air and the crowd cheered loudly.

They went to be even flashier and Luffy threw bombs in the air like fireworks, going off on a timer and leaving small pops before they disappeared.

"And the twins come first, spending nearly no energy! They're still primed perfectly for the next activity! That's their signature thing, raising one another up to be the best they can be!" Present Mic shouted. Then he went back to commentating on the others, who were having an intense time it seemed.

When they heard Midoriya was holding his own, the twins started cheering for him. When he came out first from the other two who had been after them, he was exhausted. Ace and Luffy hugged him, and carried him, putting him in the air. Cheers were made and Luffy sent up more bombs, going completely overboard, but having the time of their lives.

"Good job!" Luffy cheered once they put him down. He nodded, though he looked exhausted.

They heard angry explosions from behind and saw Bakugo there, looking rabid. He wasn't first place, but _fifth_ place. Apparently his ego was still sensitive and now he was grumpy. Todoroki just looked bored, not too angry.

The scores were put out but Ace and Luffy had tied. Luffy went up to Midnight, and said he'd take second place since they were tied. He didn't say it upset either. He jumped back down to Ace and said, "Well, neither of us won. Just wait till we make it to the top two. Then we'll see." Ace grinned and nodded. "I wonder what's next."

First was Ace, then Luffy, then Midoriya, then Todoroki, and then Bakugo. The top two were way ahead and the second three had Midoriya win. Ace and Luffy skated through easily and with almost no effort. It was good for them, not wasting much of their stamina, which didn't run out quickly at all.

Midnight was talking about the next activity, and said it would be hard for them. Pretty much terrible. Ace and Luffy grinned, blue and green eyes sparkling. After a bit more dramatics, the next game was announced. A cavalry battle. They didn't know what it meant but an image popped up on the screen and she explained that it was teams that formed two to four players. Then she looked at Ace and Luffy with a sneaky look.

"But there's one difference. Some are worth more points than others, which are based on the results of the obstacle course." She looked at them like they should be worried, but when it showed Ace was worth 10 million, they gasped and grinned. It was a knee jerk reaction. Hearing the word "worth" when it accompanied either of them made them so happy.

The rest of the first years looked at Ace and Luffy darkly. "Bring it on!" Ace said, unafraid at all. The second after it was done being explained, where they had headbands to take from the person on the top, Ace and Luffy looked at each other and headed to get their desired team members.

Todoroki was first. "Be with us. We can make steam bombs with you and we can take the headband without anybody noticing," Ace said confidently.

"Sure," he said. "Sounds like a solid plan." Then Luffy went to get Kaminari.

"We were a great team at USJ. Be with me Ace and Todoroki. It would be awesome," Luffy said. Kaminari grinned, thinking it was a great idea. The two of them hurried to the other two and they began their planning. "So, you know how we rushed into the steam at USJ without being able to see? We have really good senses. We'll know where everyone is in the steam, and Ace can guide us all.

"I can dodge anyone trying to take my head band. While we're in the steam, Todoroki can freeze those we pass so they can't come after us. Kaminari will lend me the electricity we can use as a distraction," Luffu explained. "We should try and get everybody's headbands."

Todoroki said, "That's overachieving a bit, isn't it?" Kaminari was all for it.

Ace said that they wanted to look good, right? The world was watching. "They won't see us through the steam, though," Kaminari pointed out.

"There will be breaks between the steam bombs so we can show we have more headbands. In the end, we can do it obviously. So stealthy but flashy at the same time. And who knows what would happen if we got all of them?" Ace asked. "Besides, even keeping one of ours or Todoroki's, we're still gonna pass. We just need to shine, right? And teamwork is attractive to agencies. Seeing us work together would be a great opportunity."

Todoroki and Kaminari were all for this plan. They had ten minutes left until the battle started. "Now, let's start it," Luffy said and pulled his shirt off as they filled it with fire bombs, plenty of steam bombs, electric bombs and fakes. They had more than enough and also some stuffed in his pockets and the other two. "We're gonna win. We can do it." The other two nodded. Luffy hid his shirt in his arms so nobody knew what was up besides possibly Jiro. "Follow where Ace goes, okay? Trust each other."

They were all ready.

They got into position once the fifteen minutes were up, and the moment it started, Luffy threw a steam bomb with more fire than ice to last longer onto the ground. Ace raced through the mist that only lasted ten seconds and Luffy swiped headbands like no tomorrow. He threw lighting at the confused ones and Todoroki froze them in place.

They'd used four bombs and had gotten five headbands, all wrapped around Luffy's neck. Present Mic had no idea what happened or how to commentate as five groups were frozen to the ground, unable to move.

"Oh! Team Luffy has six headbands! What happened!?" The other teams looked at them, and all of them but Todokori grinned.

Luffy threw a fire bomb in the air to distract them and then slammed another steam bomb down, Ace spirited to the outside groups and Luffy snatched from their heads, not even using his power. A swipe was made at him but he ducked in time, taking three more headbands.

"Oh! They've done it again! What is that mist? What's going on?!" Present Mic shouted. Now Luffy had them tied up to his eyes. Nine out of twelve were theirs.

Aizawa got it. "Luffy is making compressed air bombs with different substances in it. Steam is from Ace's fire and Todoroki's ice. They're stunning with bombs full of Kaminari's electricity. If this goes on any longer there will need to be another competition to see how it moves on. Then Todoroki keeps them from following by freezing them down. Their teamwork is impeccable." The crowd cheered.

"But how can they see through their own steam?!"

Aizawa said he wasn't sure. Well, everyone knew now, so Luffy slammed more steam down, then a fire in one direction to herd them inwards, snatching headbands right and left as Ace moved them expertly through the groups. They made it to Midoriya's. "Sorry!" Luffy said as he snatched Midoriya's headband.

Students were shouting angrily at losing their headbands. By then, Luffy's group had every headband covering his face and head. There were still ten minutes away from finishing, but everyone was frozen. Bakugo was fuming.

The rest of the ten minutes was spent keeping them all away with a wall of fire. Anyone who tried to get through was burned. Kaminari was having fun throwing Luffy's bombs at them. Todokori looked bored but slightly satisfied.

The time was up. "I-I... well, we have one winner team! Luffy's team! With all of the points!" the crowd cheered and students cursed at them. "But we'll have to have another match with everyone else to get the rest of the winners!" The crowd cheered again, and another match was started without the winning team.

"We did awesome," Kaminari said, all four of them sitting on the stage and watching. "I thought you were just overachievers, but that was intense." Luffy pointed out that they'd already all worked together against villains, so why would students be any harder. All four of them were happy with the results, and the next game went very differently.

With the game more fair without the four, class B all made a concentrated effort against class A. They really hated class A, jeez. Maybe even more now that four of their students stole everybody's headbands in an instant.

At the end of the second match, the team that had Bakugo, Midoriya and one from class B. Class B's guy was creepy. So, those four groups including the original winner were set to go to the next stage.

There was a lunch break and Luffy and Ace ran off to go eat. "This is so fun," Luffy said while they walked with the crowd to the cafeteria. Iida came up behind them, and complemented them for their strategy. Luffy said, "It wasn't anything new, really. The four of us plus Jiro used those tactics against the villains at USJ."

Iida said, "So, experience, heh? It looks like you have all grown from the USJ incident." Ace said he had a feeling all of them did.

Ace said, "I learned that I'm not immune to panic and fear. That was more useful than anything else. It brought me down to earth." Luffy said he agreed. That it was scary, but also taught him he was human just like everybody else.

Neither mentioned how they also learned how real easily somebody could die from their powers if they weren't concise and responsible with them. Just like Thirteen had said. They were brought back to attention when Bakugo stormed up to them. "I'll decimate you when we fight. I'll be the one to win," he spat. Ace and Luffy were unfazed, experts at Bakugo's tantrums.

"Good luck with that. We plan on being the last ones in the ring," Ace said in a pleasant voice and then went back to talking to Iida and now Uraraka and Midoriya. "I'm glad we all made it through. We get to fight each other and that should be fun," the freckled twin said.

The other three said they definitely didn't want to fight either of them. "Why not?" Luffy whined.

"You guys are too overpowered! It's not fair!" Uraraka sigh in frustration. "Oooh!" Ace and Luffy said they were like that because they worked hard. It's not like the skill came easy to them. Luffy had his shirt back on after they'd won the match and the bombs were gone.

After they ate lunch, those who passed the last game were to see the scoreboard results. Luckily, the two of them were on different sides of the main tree. Meaning they could both be finalists against each other. They linked pinkies but then were distracted when Ojiro raised his hand and said he was dropping out. He barely remembered the cavalry battle until the very end.

Both twins' heads snapped to a creepy guy with purple hair. Ace asked, "Him, right?" and pointed to the guy. He looked shocked, as he hadn't expected to be caught so easily. Ojiro looked shocked but nodded. "His quirk made you forget?"

Ojiro said, "Something like that."

Boos filled the stadium at the guy who ruined someone else's fun and chance to show their skills off. He looked confused and angry at Ace. "How'd you know?" Ace pointed to his own face. "I'm good at reading expressions and body language and caught you just at the right moment. You faced slightly away, a hint of a smile, and your head was leaning slightly backwards with your eyes averted. The look of pride. You were proud of what happened to him. Who else would be proud if they weren't involved?"

The others were shocked. "It's not a very good look for heroes. He was your teammate and you did something to him," Ace said with a frown. Midnight looked shocked at all of this.

"Well, even if that's true, Ojiro still wishes to withdraw, and while it looks bad, there were no rules against it," the pro-hero said. Ace had successfully ruined any chance for this guy to be popular. He was glaring coldly at him. Then another person came forward and wished to withdraw for the same reason.

"Luffy, don't say anything to him," Ace whispered. Luffy nodded, and both looked away. Ojiro was still upset and still withdrew. The crowd cheered for him, saying "don't mind". Ace wasn't happy for his classmate. He saw Midoriya was against that guy and walked up to him. "Don't lose to him, Midoriya. You're a better person and would make a better hero." He nodded solemnly, glaring at Shinso, who was not in a happy mood after his actions were exposed to the world and crowd.

Two others replaced the two who withdrew.

Luffy was against Aioyama and Ace was against Momo. Luffy was disappointed. The guy was not very strong or good at fighting. Ace knew he'd win just with raw speed and strength against her as it took awhile for her quirk to work. They were excited to move up, though, in ranks. Then they'd meet at the top and fight in front of the world, going all out! They participated in the recreational games, having fun again and goofing off. There was no merit in these other than to have fun, and they were. So far, this festival has been awesome! They were the only ones in the tournament that were taking part. Everyone else was tired and needed a break or were collecting themselves consciously, nervous.

Midoriya wasn't there. Ace and Luffy weren't scared. Whoever won, won. They didn't want to lose, but if they did it wouldn't be a hard blow. They wanted to be the powerful brothers and both win their matches. If one of them won, it was a victory for both since they wanted to be partners as heroes.


	10. Sports Festival Part 2

**chickie434: Luffy is the baby/angel in the class. He's cute throughout the story. Was so fun to write.**

**Asl_lover: I've written way too many sports festivals. _Three._ Three in three crossovers. Sadly, it kind of made me hate it all besides the fight between sweet Todoroki and Midoriya. And thank you for bringing the errors to attention. I even started having trouble not calling devil fruits quirks in my regular one piece fics, lol.**

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**I** **officially** **have five stories in waiting when others finish being posted. Two are unedited. And they're not all crossovers anymore! Hurray! I was stuck doing crossovers for awhile. Five! And one of them is exclusively one piece characters, and is super angsty. As in Luffy gets tortured angsty. Anyways, enjoy~**

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When it started, Luffy ignored the stairs of the bleachers and carried Ace up his air stairs to where the class was sitting. They both sat down in front of them. Ojiro thanked Ace for bringing Shinso to attention. What he'd done was horrible for a hero. Teamwork was important.

"You're welcome. But that's disgusting, what he did."

"It's honorable you didn't want to take part when you did no work," Luffy added. "Now the world knows how scummy he is, ruining the chances for others to shine. Ace was actually mad. We get really mad when someone takes a chance of a better life from someone else. Even if it wasn't that big of a chance, it was still one that Ojiro deserved and was stolen from him."

Ojiro thanked them again. It was the first match, Midoriya and Shinso. The crowd cheered for Midoriya and booed for Shinso. Ace didn't feel bad at all. Even if Ojiro _wasn't_ a friend, he would have still said something. The brothers had no chance in life until Gunhead found them. If someone had taken that chance for them, well, they wouldn't be happy like they were now.

Almost immediately, Shinso was winning. He used his power on Midoriya, who was now walking to the end of the stage to leave and forfeiting his match. Ojiro said it was Shinso's power, and both brothers hand their hands on their faces, peeking through their fingers. Was this it? It would look so bad for Midoriya!

They were all so worried before suddenly a gust of wind went down and Midoriya's finger was broken. They knew he hurt himself to get himself out of the bind instantly. Now he had to just not say anything to Shinso. But the crowd cheered for him for breaking out of Shinso's curse, a guy who was already disliked or at least not wanted.

Midoriya said nothing this time and moved to push Shinso out. Luffy was cheering loudly before Shinso hit his broken fingers and shoved Midoriya around. Both twins were thinking for him to use something they taught, anything to turn the tables. And he did. A basic throw that was one of the first moves that he also used on Bakugo at the start of the school year.

"Yeah!" Luffy and Ace cheered. They both walked off after Shinso said something, and there was a short break for the next match to start, with Todoroki and Sero. They knew who would lose. Sero had to know too, he was tape against a strong ice user. While his tape was useful in many situations, it wasn't good for fighting, especially not how Todoroki fought.

And he lost almost immediately. A huge mass of ice was created and thrust towards them. Luffy barely had enough time to put a wall up and stop it from impaling their group of seats. He won, obviously.

The next few matches were a bit forgettable, besides poor Iida being used as a dummy in some sort of live commercial for the support girl, who then walked out of the ring, embarrassing Iida. Luffy was up against Aoyama. Ace wished him good luck, and the classmates confessed worries about the match.

When he met him on the stage, he was grinning. The crowd cheered for him when he came out and Aoyama had smaller cheers. Present Mic pointed out that Luffy was a fan favorite. "You won't be able to keep up with my sparkling," Aoyama said.

"You go first," Luffy encouraged. So he did, shooting a beam that Luffy ducked, putting his hands over his head and landing on the ground in a table position and then popping back up after the beam was done being shot. He evaded it, but did give him the fist chance. He was too fast for the guy to watch and bounced from air step to air step, angled downwards and then before he shot forward and grabbed Aoyama arm before flinging him up in the air, suddenly above him and doing a flip to slam him down into the stage with his leg. It was over in an instant, and Luffy dropped down.

Aoyama was still conscious, but unable to move. Luffy went and picked him up and set him down out of bounds. So, he won pretty easily. "Sorry about that, but I gotta meet Ace up at the top," he said, and raised his fist, the crowd cheering for him. Unlike with Sero, they weren't pitying the loser, they already liked Luffy from the start and cheered for him.

He then made a stairway back up to the box of the stadium where their class was sitting. They were all silent before Kaminari pointed out that that wasn't necessary. "Do you think he would have wanted to lose with me going easy on him? I didn't do any real damage, it was a stun that kept him imobile. I have to meet Ace at the top," he said simply. Bakugo scoffed. "Besides, Recovery Girl can fix him up easily."

Ace's fight was next with Momo. They both walked down together, and Ace warned her that he wasn't going to go easy because she's a woman. "I wouldn't want it any other way," she said firmly, and they went to their entrance places.

Luffy was more favorable than Ace, so there were no overwhelming cheers for Ace over Momo. They were reasonable cheers. "I'm not going to let you have a chance," Ace said. "You're talented, and I'm not giving you a handicap."

She nodded, though she looked nervous. She was about to create something, but Ace was there and grabbed her by the arm, swept her out from under her legs so she fell to the stage before he picked up her leg and threw her out of bounds, skidding in the grass hard and just barely hitting the stadium wall.

She sat up and looked at her hands. The girl hadn't had any time to do anything. He jumped down and walked to her and shook her hand politely. "Do you want to go to Recovery Girl?" he asked, walking with her out of the ring, waving at the crowd.

"No, I'm fine. Luffy really didn't hurt Aoyama, did he?" Ace shook his head, saying they were always in control against people that didn't need to be harmed.

"If it ends up me against Bakugo, then I'll be going all out. I didn't want to risk seriously injuring or killing you. It was a bad matchup. You would have been better against Sero or Kirishima. Not a physical fighter."

Momo nodded in agreement. "I'm better at long distance or supporting." Ace nodded, agreeing with her. They walked back to their places in the bleachers. The girls asked if she was okay, and she said she was fine. "I might be sore later but he had control. It just wasn't a good match up," she said, being a very good sport.

The other fights were a bit to be expected Takoyami won his and Kirishima had the worst and also perfect match up with someone with nearly the same quirk. Neither won before they knocked each other out.

Then it was Bakugo's fight against Uraraka. For her safety, they hoped Bakugo wouldn't go all out, but for Uraraka's pride, they hoped he didn't baby her.

And he did go all out on her, even though she fought valiantly. Her long term strategies just didn't work against Bakugo. All of the matches seemed to be bad matchups. Bakugo won, not that anyone was surprised, but Uraraka took the defeat with grace, getting up and walking herself off stage, even if she was hurt and tired with her whole body shaking.

Midoriya went to see her while Ace and Luffy sat in the arena. "After Midoriy's fight, I think I'm gonna go get some fresh air," Ace explained. Luffy said he'd come too. Maybe they could get some food.

The fights, to be honest, were boring and predictable. Until it was Midoriya and Todoroki's battle. That one was _infuriating_ as Midoriya seemed to give no thought to long term damage to his fingers as he used many of them multiple times when they were already broken. Did he not care about his health? Did he think Recovery Girl will fix it forever? He also broke his arm and Ace and Luffy were raging, shouting profanities as he ruined his body.

The others tried to get them to calm down at first, but eventually gave up when they were still fuming. "I can't even be mad at Todoroki! He was doing his best and yet Midoriya decided he should break all his fingers while having a conversation!" Ace raged. Luffy nodded along, and they only calmed when the match was over, the stage destroyed.

"I can't go see him. I'm too angry. someone, please check on him," Luffy grumbled. "I'm next against you, Iida." Iida looked determined and nodded. Both of them headed down to their starting places, and Luffy made sure he knew that he wouldn't go easy on him. "I think you're strong, so I'm not holding back. I ask you to do the same for me."

"Right! It will be a fair fight," and they shook hands firmly. "After that, one or both of us should go see Midoriya." Luffy didn't point out that Iida might see him by going into the infirmary as well. Luffy wasn't kidding. If he injured Iida, then that was how it was.

The crowd cheered again when Luffy came out, though there was also cheering for Iida. He had been tricked and used for the last match, so here he was going to get a real one. They stood on either side of the stage, which had been fixed up by Cementos after a short break. They had a feeling their fight would not be as exciting as the previous, because nobody would be destroying their body.

Luffy let Iida attack first, spriting at him with his powerful engine legs. But speed didn't matter when Luffy had haki, and dodged Iida seamlessly as he raced past him. He came around for another one and kicked behind Luffy, who ducked. Iida was thrown off, and went to kick Luffy again, who grabbed Iida's leg, throwing him off and gripped it in one hand before his engine stopped working.

He was in pain, and glaring at Luffy in shock. Luffy shot forward and slammed a fist he had with an air shield so it didn't hurt him into Iida's gut, throwing him back and near the out of bounds line. He skidded to a stop, one of his legs not working when he didn't see Luffy suddenly behind him, grapping under his arms and lifting him up over his head, throwing him into the out of bounds wall with a loud slam and a shout of shock and pain from the taller of the two.

The stadium was silent until it was declared Luffy won. They erupted into cheers. Nobody at school had seen Ace and Luffy actually fight when not in a panic. Neither of them had been injured from their matches in any way. Luffy jumped off the stage and helped Iida to Recovery Girl.

"Good fight. Though I lost spectacularly. I thank you for pulling no punches," Iida said honorably. Luffy grinned at him, complimenting him for being such a good loser.

"Both you and Momo have been great about your losses," he commented. Iida said that there was no honor in arguing about a match that was clearly decided. Luffy nodded in agreement. When they entered the room, Midoriya was passed out and Luffy led Iida to a bed. Uraraka was there, getting her burns and scratches treated, looking empty inside. The loss hit her hard. But she couldn't have expected to win against Bakugo.

"Iida's leg is the most injured but he will also have bruises on his back." Luffy had dented in the leg and caused the engines to fail, but they were easily fixed. "It would be very different if Recovery Girl weren't here. Some people would be dead." He turned to Recovery Girl. "He needs surgery, doesn't he?" Luffy asked coldly.

Recovery Girl nodded. Luffy hissed, "That damn idiot. He's gonna do permanent damage to himself." He sighed. "Ace is next, so I have to watch him against Tokoyami."

Iida wished him good luck if he couldn't see his fight with Todoroki. He thanked him and headed back to the stadium to watch Ace's match. He was already inside, getting ready to go out. Against Tokoyami, anyone who didn't use bright attacks, would have a hard time. But Dark Shadow was weak against flames, and Ace's were a blinding white. The match would be decided easily.

They were so close to the top, close to both winning the top spots, as they did for the last two games. A winning streak like this would look good on anybody, and he and Ace were already favorites by the crowd. Hopefully they'd get scouted by some good heroes, other than Gunhead. They hoped he was watching somehow. So they could make him proud.

Ace was fuming, angry at Midoriya for doing stupid things like this. Before getting this quirk, he never injured himself like that. He always stopped before he had reached maximum. Ace was sure he needed surgery for his shattered fingers. Ace couldn't believe he worked with fingers that had already been broken.

There were two that were already injured from the battle with the not-honorable man and then he used them again. Ace understood that he only had ten fingers, but that didn't mean you sacrificed all of them! He wouldn't have been able to do the next match even if _he had_ won! It was useless! A waste of his health!

Ace could understand why he wanted to do his best, but there had to be a cut off line where you say, "This is going to kill me. I need to forfeit the match." It might be embarrassing, but so was getting injuries like that that were his own fault. He needed to learn other fighting styles if this one is so detrimental. You can't depend on a tactic that puts you out of commission. It was nonsense.

When he walked out on the stage, he took a deep breath and left his lingering anger in the hallway for him to collect later. He stood across from Tokoyami and bowed. The bird-man knew that Ace was dangerous, and attacked first, shooting Dark Shadow only to create a massive wall of blindingly white flames, burning dark shadow away. Ace walked forward, pushing the wall with him before he reached the end of the stage. It was very hot, and would burn the opponent if he did anything.

He sucked the fire away and kicked Tokoyami in the stomach once hard enough to make him fly into the wall. The battle lasted three minutes. He called out an apology, but the loser said he was thankful that Ace didn't not treat him weakly and restrict his power. They both bowed, even if Tokoyami was holding his stomach.

"What is with these brothers!? Will they end up being the last ones to fight?! What a fight it would be!" Present Mic shouted. Ace pumped his fists in the air, and the crowd roared. They seemed to be wanting to see Luffy and Ace fight it out. Bakugo should win his next fight. Then Luffy would fight Todoroki and Ace would fight Bakugo.

He knew all of Bakugo's moves from over the years, but Bakugo didn't know all of his. And he also didn't know that any explosion wouldn't damage Ace. So the only thing Bakugo could do to make him lose quickly would be to throw him out of the ring, but he'd blast back in, and Ace was sure he wouldn't want to win that way.

He wouldn't win. Ace already knew a way to damage his hand and arm. He sweated out flammable liquids. If Ace suddenly lit it on fire with the hottest flames, they would explode and damage his hands. It was a fight against Bakugo, he wasn't going to pull any punches. He'd finally show him who was on top.

Ace wasn't looking to be seen better than Bakugo, as a human being he already was. But he was irate with the bomb boy constantly saying he'd take him down. Then let's see him try, shall we?

He got back to the stands to see Luffy sipping a slurpee. He didn't know when or how he'd gotten it. Todoroki wasn't in the stadium with them, so they didn't talk or go down together. And Bakugo had won against his opponent. Things were going how they wanted. Now it was the four top fighters of the class going against one another.

The strongest two would be the last to fight, and the first to win. Luffy grinned and gave Ace a high five. "Let's not think about that idiot for the rest of the competition. He'll just distract us," Luffy said cheerily. Ace snatched his cherry slurpee from him and Luffy dropped down and into the hall he'd be exiting from.

He took a deep breath. This was it, he had to win so he could fight his brother and make it the most memorable finale ever. To twins fighting each other so one of them would win, the ultimate show of love. Trust, that they wouldn't kill one another. Ace had a weakness. His flames could not burn Luffy, never had. Luffy had a weakness against Ace, his body was solid.

He cleared his mind and waked out for the second time, arms up and grinning at the overwhelming cheers. Todoroki came out looking a bit empty. Had something happened? Ace could sense he wasn't at full strength. Maybe something emotional happened.

"Are you going to fight me seriously? You look sort of sad," Luffy commented. Todoroki looked surprised before sad again, perhaps looking lost or confused. Luffy had won plenty of unfair fights in the slums. He didn't care for them anymore, but he couldn't do anything if the opponent wasn't invested in the competition. "Okay," Luffy said and shot forward.

Todoroki automatically put up a shield of ice that Luffy punched through with a hand guarded by air, but it was feeble and wouldn't last long. The crowd gasped as his hand gripped Todoroki's shirt through the ice, punching it with his other hand to break it apart. Luffy kicked off of vertical air steps and jumped over Todoroki, pulling his neck down to his shoulder and slamming him face first into the ground.

The stone cracked beneath him, and spikes of ice came up, Luffy easily moving out of their way so he wasn't skewered. The iceman had a bloody nose and lip, and looked at him angrily. He short ice at him and Luffy dodged each one gracefully, flipping and kicking off of air steps to get out of the way before he was on the other side, flipping fast so that his calve slammed down on Todoroki's shoulder and then he pulled the weakened arm up and away, sensing the fire that came and then sputtered out.

Luffy kicked him in the chest so hard he slammed into an ice wall and was thrust out of bounds. He was unconscious. Luffy was disappointed. He pouted, kicking the floor before putting an arm up in victory, getting cheers. Then he went to Todoroki and carefully picked him up to take to the infirmary.

He woke up on the way. "I'm sorry. I wasn't fighting seriously," he said.

"I could tell from the start you were distant and foggy. I just wasn't going to let that be an excuse to go easy on you. But at least I'm in the finals now. Me and Ace will be at the top again," Luffy said happily. "Whatever thing that was bothering you and is now gone, I'm happy for you. Before Midoriya's fight, you were so angry. Now you just seem tired. Not angry anymore." He sat him down on the infirmary bed, the one that was available.

"Good luck. I hope you and Ace win," Todoroki said, gripping his shoulder that should be in agony. He was a good sport and didn't whine. Luffy went back out and to the seat so he could watch the fated battle between Ace and Bakugo.

Ace was feeling bad for Luffy. Todoroki clearly wasn't in that fight, but at least he made it to the finals. As long as one of them did, he would be happy. But he wanted to fight him so bad in front of the world. Show how tough and determined they were. How much pain they could handle and not break under pressure.

He and Luffy were probably not going to use their quirks. They were inefficient. And Ace would keep his body solid or else it would be completely unfair to Luffy and there was no way he'd let himself make Luffy seem weak or the lesser brother. They were pretty evenly matched. Showing each other's skills off were what they did best! Now he just had to get rid of Bakugo.

He walked out on stage with Bakugo there. Ace was hearing his name chanted. Bakugo didn't seem bothered much. "I'll show you once and for all that you're not number one!" Bakugo raged, and shot forward. Ace side stepped and then brought a foot up to kick him in the stomach, he grabbed Ace's arm and did hesitate to blow it up. The crowd screamed in horror until they saw that Ace's flesh hadn't sprayed everywhere, but white fire that reformed. No one had seen the regenerative properties of Ace's quirk.

He grabbed Bakugo and slammed him to the ground, only to have an explosion beneath him, splattering Ace into white fire that then reformed. Present Mic was freaking about that regenerative ability, and the audience was in shock.

But the one in most shock was Bakugo. He gripped Bakugo's arm and lit his hand on fire, making him scream in pain before it turned into anger and he blew up Ace's head. It just reformed. The bomb boy was looking panicked. "You've been hiding this power all along?! All that time I thought you were weak!"

"I didn't feel the need for you to see me strong," Ace replied simply. He let Bakugo attack, but his arm passed right through Ace's gut, and Ace took the chance to punch down hard on Bakugo's back. It broke his spine, but he bounced back despite the pain he must be in. It honestly looked like Ace wasn't even trying.

"Are you mocking me?" he snarled.

Ace sighed, "Do your injuries look like I'm mocking you?"

"Ye-" but Ace had a fist in Bakugo's face, breaking a tooth and flying him hard into the out of bounds wall. He did not go easy and he did not pull his punches. But he wasn't going to mock Bakugo's loss.

"Not yet!" he roared and jumped back into the ring even though he'd lost. Ace didn't expect him to be a good loser. He was going to be angry either way. Ace side stepped his messy thrust and slammed his foot back down on the sensitive back. "This… can't be! I'm stronger than you. I'm stronger than all of you!" he roared.

Ace chopped the back of Bakugo's neck. "You already lost. Don't make it worse for yourself," Ace said with a sigh. He didn't carry Bakugo to the infirmary, he didn't care for him that much. He was wheeled off, unconscious and sweating in pain. The crowd was shocked before they burst into applause and cheer.

"Here we are! The final contestants are not friends, but twins?! Who will win?!" Present Mic shouted. "The fateful battle will happen after a short recess!"


	11. Post-Sports Festival

**Anime_Moonoo: Aw, thank you! That comment made me so happy! I'm very glad you like my stories!**

**chicki434: I hope it's not disappointing.**

**Asl_lover: Yeah, when I watched the fight, I was like "cool animation, stupid character" lol. Did he think he'd be able to fight in the next round with his fingers and arm fucked up??**

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**The fight is kind of short since I'm not very good at writing long ones. But I hope it's enjoyable! There's Luffy fluff in this one, too. He's so adorable. I just wanted to remind everybody that this is not a romance/incest fic. They are twins that care for each other deeply. Enjoy~**

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Ace ran back inside and found Luffy dropping from the stands. "We did it! We're the last winners!" Ace hugged him and they laughed. "We beat him for good!" Luffy said about Bakugo. "Man, you did not go easy. If I'd never fought you before, I'd be scared," he joked.

Ace grinned and nodded. "So, no quirks?"

"No quirks. Just our fighting skills. They've seen our quirks and your fire can't harm me. We'll give them a show even if it isn't flashy like Bakugo or Todoroki. I wonder how they'll feel about us pummeling each other. I'm not afraid of some lost blood but let's try not to break each other's bones," Luffy said.

"Deal!" Ace agreed, and they gave a high five. One they were called, the two left the hall together, arm in arm while the other ones waved. They were both grinning. Luffy ran up to the opposite side of the stage from his brother.

"It's finally here! The fight between the two strongest of the first years! Of the class! Of the tournament! The top highest achievers since the start, taking out over 60 bots and the bosses on their own! How will they fight one another? We shall see!" Present Mic shouted, clearly very excited about this.

Ace and Luffy bowed like Gunhead told them to, and both shot forward. It was hard for the others to keep track of as they were moving so fast and dogging expertly. They did flips, fakes, ducks, kicks, punches, hair pulls, but they dodged each other each time until Luffy got in a punch to the jaw, which Ace responded to with a kick to the side that threw his brother a few feet but he stopped and shot off of the ground and back at Ace.

They had taken their shoes off and were barefoot. They were not gentle with each other. Losing the grace of haki, they pummeled each other equally, graceful but forceful. Luffy punched Ace in the gut, who bent over and then flipped Luffy over him, slamming him into the concrete hard enough for it to crack, but Luffy kicked him in the face and flipped over, slamming him into the concrete next.

Present Mic couldn't keep up but wondered, "How can they hurt each other like this?!" Aizawa stepped in.

"Because they respect each others' fighting and won't dishonor them by taking it easy." The crowd cheered, and it was the second most intense fight besides Midoriya and Todoroki's. Blood was spat and spilled, bruises were already forming, a sprained ankle and wrist. Yet they continued. It lasted for over fifteen minutes of continuous brawling.

"Where did they learn to fight like this?!" Present Mic shouted. Ace and Luffy both knew Gunhead was probably furious with them. Finally, they both punched each other in the face and fell down, gasping. They both thrust their fists up, knowing they were unable to fight anymore. "Another tie it seems!" Present Mic shouted. "What a fight!"

The stadium erupted into cheers. Luffy got up and wobbled to Ace, pulling him up so they could thrust their connected hands up, both exhausted but still running on adrenaline. "There you have it, a great hero team in the making!"

Then they slowly limped their way inside, still being cheered on. When they entered the infirmary, everyone there saw the state of them, bloody and bruised. "You guys did this to each other?!" The both nodded and sat down on the nearest bed.

Recovery Girl went over and fixed them up quickly, though they were tired. "How's Bakugo?" Ace pondered.

"He's been sedated after exploding in anger and hurting himself more," Recovery Girl answered. "Man, all of you kids give me a hard time. Once you're fixed, take some gummies and go accept your awards."

They nodded, most of them healed but in varying states of exhaustion, Luffy and Ace the most. They went to accept their medals and climbed the pedestals. Bakugo got third place, and had to be chained down to accept his award while Ace and Luffy were given both first place and second place since they tied. They were both grinning and waving tiredly.

When they got back to class, Ace and Luffy were both passed out and sleeping on their desks. Nobody woke them, even the teacher. They didn't have school the next day or day after, so pro-heroes could recruit them based on what they'd seen. They woke up when the class was dismissed, and barely made it to the parking lot where they fell into the car.

They fell asleep on the way home, leaning against each other in the backseat. When they woke up, they'd both been carried inside and tucked into their bed. Luffy woke up first to the smell of food and opened the door. Gunhead was there, Luffy could sense him. "We won, Gunhead," he said, reaching for the food. "I'm sorry we beat each other up. But we got fixed."

"I am proud of your accomplishments and you made a great first impression. But you two went too hard on each other, family shouldn't do that to one another," he said, sounding troubled. Ace was awake, too, now and said, "But we're only a little sleepy."

"Still. It was hard to watch. But I'm glad I've taught you so well. And in only a year! Most take many years to get to where you are now. I am proud, I promise. And I'm not mad, I just hope to never see you two do that again," the pro-hero said. Both of them promised they wouldn't ever go that hard again, make each other bleed like that.

Ace confessed, "I had fun, but it was hard to see Luffy bloody because of me. I'm just glad Recovery Girl fixed us up. That's the only reason we were okay with going full force on one another. The other fights were kinda boring." Luffy nodded in agreement, unable to talk with the food in his mouth.

"I can see why. You two were much stronger than your first opponents, and smarter with your others. Though I do feel bad Todoroki didn't do much in that match. And the cavalry race had me laughing. You guys truly are overachievers, taking every headband." Both boys grinned and nodded, saying they wanted to be at the top. "Even if you two hadn't done spectacularly, I have no doubt just your charisma and attitude would get you some offers from heroes."

Ace grinned and said Luffy was a great public speaker. "I came up with that on the spot, too," he bragged. The rest of the dinner was lighthearted and didn't speak anymore about the twins beating one another up. The three of them watched horror movies to end the night before Gunhead went to work.

The next two days they didn't have school and were to rest and recuperate. Though the two wanted to go out, and went out to eat and get sweets. They deserved them and would burn them off quickly with training.

They had lots of people recognize them and come up to them, congratulating them on winning and saying that they were rooting for them both the whole time. It made them grin and laugh awkwardly and give them thanks. That happened a lot, and some little kids were excited and recounted their fights with silly noises.

Some girls asked to take pictures with them, which was kind of weird, since they didn't care much. They clearly wanted them to put their arms around their shoulders like celebrities did, but they just gave thumbs up and smiles. They did it and then they went on their way. On a jumbo screen when they got to the more busy area of the city, the fights were playing. The sports festival really was a big thing.

The fights playing the most were Todoroki and Midoriya and Bakugo and Ace. Then there were clips of Luffy and Ace being happy and enthusiastic. They were glad they were able to show that side of themselves to the public. The side they were proud of. Proud of making people happy, seeing smiles around them.

They spent all their gift money on food and candy and then walked home, getting more attention and even giving some autographs. It was weird, but also nice. That they were recognized for their hard work.

When school started again, everyone was talking about how people came up to them on the street to talk about their fights. Ace and Luffy weren't the only ones who were asked for autographs. Ace asked the guys if they had any girls trying to take pictures with them.

"I did! It was awesome," Kirishima said. Todoroki quietly said he did as well, but declined. Those were the only ones besides the twins. Luffy said what they'd done and the guys in the class asked why on earth they didn't want to get nice pictures with girls.

Ace shrugged. "Girls would be a distraction on our way to being top heroes. Ever since we've been kids we were never interested in romance. Just friends and family," he explained.

Sero simply said, "You're weird." Luffy laughed and said that was probably true.

When Aizawa walked in, everyone noticed his bandages were gone and he said Recovery Girl went overboard with her treatment. He got everyone's attention more when he said they were doing something special that day. Code names. Hero names.

"This is related to the pro-hero drafts I brought up the other day. The drafts begin in earnest during the second and third years after students have gained experience and can become immediate assets to the pros." He said that since they were picked, the pros saw potential in them, though the offers could be canceled if the interest pro-heroes show dies down before graduation. They'd have to prove themselves to show they had potential. "Here's the amount of offers for this class.

Ace and Luffy were grouped together, as everyone knew from it being announced and displayed during the sports, and they were at the top spot with 15,000 offers. It shocked them but they gave high fives. Todoroki was next with 4,000 or so, and Bakugo fourth with 3,500 offers. Ace and Luffy were way ahead of everyone else.

"These were offered both on skill and personality. Most pros would rather have someone powerful and charismatic, similar to All Might being seen as powerful and charismatic, as well as with teamwork," Aizawa explained. The students all turned around to look at the twins. Bakugo was hissing in his seat. "In every normal year, most are spread out more evenly, but the attention was all on these four this year."

Aizawa said that even if they got no offers, they'd all be participating in the internships with the pros. Even though they already had combat against the villains in the USJ incident, they would still benefit by internships with pros.

Apparently the hero names were still temporary. Midnight came in loudly and said they'd have hell to pay if they weren't serious about it because the hero society would use those names to identify each other. She would be making sure their names were alright.

They were given whiteboards and pens to write with. Neither brother really knew what theirs would be. Ace was going for something cool, while Luffy wanted a name that would make him happy whenever he heard it. It didn't take long for him to figure it out. He wrote it down, only two letters, and turned it upside down so Ace couldn't see it.

Ace's seemed a lot longer, and he wondered what it was. The sound of squeaking as the pens wrote and were rewritten filled the room. Ace was looking at his with a grin, truly having no idea what Luffy would pick. Probably something more meaningful than flashy or badass. Besides, his quirk wasn't as destructive as Ace's could be, so it didn't need to be something intense. But both of their names were chosen quickly, and after the time was up, people started presenting theirs. Luffy decided to get his over with, so he was first.

He wasn't nervous to speak in front of the class, since he was fine speaking to the stadium and world. "I want my hero name to make me happy whenever I hear it, so I chose something more meaningful than cool." He turned it around to show "Lu". "Ace has called me this since we were little if I was ever upset, so it means a lot to me."

The girls in the class went, "Awwww," and some said that they now thought theirs sucked. Ace had this face of absolute affection. Midnight approved, saying the story behind it would make any hero proud. Teamwork was a must, and showing that his hero partner and he were close would definitely be a plus.

Luffy smiled and walked back to his seat. Ace took his hand and grinned before letting it go. He went up next. "Mine isn't as meaningful as Luffy's, since my power is pretty destructive, so I wanted one more intense," and he showed his as "Firefist Ace". "And now we can have a due name that sort of flows. 'Acelu'. How's that?" he asked Luffy.

"I'm cool with that!"

Midnight smiled. "I approve. Both a softy and a badass name. Two sides of the spectrum working together!" Ace walked back to his seat, and both of them were very happy. Ashido pouted and wished she was in a duo.

Most of the other names had something to do with their appearance or power, though two of them did similar to Luffy's and used their first name. Well, Bakugo's weren't accepted as they had "murder" and other violent words in it. The twins wondered what Midoriya would come up with, really having no idea. When he got up there, he was nervous and then everyone was shocked when he turned the board around to show "Deku".

It was his bullies' nickname for him before Ace and Luffy came along, and even a bit after that. They knew why, he was taking control over a word used against him. He would turn that into something new. Plus, Uraraka pointed out that "Deku" also sounded like "you can do it".

Ace and Luffy sent him thumbs up before he could even explain, grinning proudly. He got more confident to explain his reasoning with his two friends' approvals. He explained what they knew. Bakugo grew a bit angry, but not much, surprisingly. Ace and Luffy pat him on the back when he sat down again. "Way to take control of that word." He nodded, happy.

When they got the lists of the offers given to them, the brothers both had thick packets, but they already knew who they wanted to do it with. Both of them. They just searched to see if they had offered, and she had. After all, Ace and Luffy worked with saving people from USJ and getting them out.

"Thirteen. We're good at fighting, but we want to be good at rescuing as well," Ace explained when they'd chosen their's immediately. It was lucky they got so many agencies, but they didn't really matter as they hadn't looked through them at all. They just searched for one name, glad it was there, and put the packet back down.

They brought them up to Aizawa, who wasn't surprised with their choice or that they had picked already. He looked and said, "I can see why. This can be a good chance for you," and he left.

Ashido complained that it wasn't fair that Ace and Luffy had gotten so many. "Why can't I be nice like that?" she whined. Momo pointed out that Luffy had made a first impression with his uplifting speech. After that, all eyes were on him. And it helped that both of them grinned almost the whole time and were good with strategies as well as fighting. "All three sports were pretty much made for them."

Ace said, "You're giving us too much credit. We weren't really trying to stand out, we were just being ourselves."

Uraraka also picked quickly, and both of the brothers were surprised. She chose Gunhead. Which meant they wouldn't be able to be seen at home. Well, they'd be at their own internships. And Gunhead would teach Uraraka well, they had no doubt. Hopefully she didn't recognize their moves as from Gunhead. Nobody knew still. Ace and Luffy still weren't upset, knowing that he liked them even without needing to show them off. He cared for them. And he hadn't offered them to come to their agency, obviously. They would learn nothing new by going to his and also wouldn't need any training with fighting.

When people noticed Midoriya shaking, they asked what was up. "He's been exercising in his seat. You don't need an outside space to exercise," Ace said. Midoriya explained that he was keeping himself just barely above the chair. It was resistance training. They were all impressed, as were the twins.

When school was out, Gunhead was at work today and so Ace and Luffy would be taking the train and then walking home. They waited for their friend to come out, and when he did he had a small smile on. Uraraka had already left once Midoriya had been with All Might for a while. When Midoriya caught up, they started walking. He would get off the train first and then Ace and Luffy would continue home.

"Your guys' names are great," Midoriya said happily. "And I'm glad you guys got so many offers. You deserve it for all of your hard work." Ace frowned.

"We're still angry about you destroying your fingers. You told us you have someone who offered, don't waste that time. Recovery Girl can't work miracles, Midoriya. You need to treat your body with care, it's the only one you have. Me and Luffy train hard, but we know our limits. You don't seem to know yours," Ace said firmly. Midoriya looked down.

He said, "I'm doing my best to learn to control it. I _will_ take advantage of this and learn how to not hurt myself. Putting myself out of commission would just be burdensome to others. Aizawa told me that at the beginning of the year. And he was right."

Luffy put a hand on his shoulder. "All we can do is our very best. Don't pull any punches, go all out on this." Then they were interrupted by people finally recognizing them though they were at the back of the train.

When they got home, they made roasted chicken for dinner. Not having the parents - adults there made them need to cook their own food. Like everything else, they learned quickly and could make food for their dinner and enough for leftovers for Gunhead. They couldn't wait to tell him how many offers they'd gotten. Their hard work paid off. Not only fighting, but their hard work to leave their years of fear, isolation and self-hatred behind.

They were sure he'd melt when he heard Luffy's reasoning for his hero name. And he did when he came home, his face was covered but he went, "Awwwwww, my little boys are all grown up." They froze, and Ace and Luffy bit their lips to not cry and nodded. Gunhead didn't seem to have a problem with calling them that, and it was a nice night, even if it was pretty late and the brothers went to bed early to get to the train station the next day to head to their hero agencies.


	12. First Internship

**Anime_Moonoo: Thank you! I had to make them equal, not better than one or another. Though I think Luffy's power is more diverse and convenient.**

**chickie434: Ace was stronger in cannon world, but I def wanted them to be equal in strength since they put the same effort into it. Little angels**

**Asl_lover: Luffy gets even cuter, just you wait.**

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**There may be typos. There always is, even when I go through and edit. -_- So annoying. Enjoy~**

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When they went the next morning, everyone was gathered at the train station, backpacks on and holding their cases of costumes. They'd all been repaired and cleaned awhile ago and were ready to go. "Remember, don't wear your costumes in public, don't be rude and mind your manners with the heroes at your internship. Off with you now," and the students dispersed.

"Good luck Midoriya, Uraraka and Iida. Do your best!" The other three agreed and wished them well, too. Ace and Luffy excitedly got on the bus outside and took it to USJ, which had been repaired quickly. When they walked out, they found Thirteen there. This one was for rescue practice. There were no disasters at the moment, and this was the best place to train.

Surprisingly, there were two others from their class. Sato and Ojiro. "Hey, guys!" the twins said excitedly, all four of them changed into their outfits. The other two were happy to see them. "Is it just us? We're getting tutoring?"

Sato said that people inside were being set up for them to rescue. If there was a real disaster, then they'd be there but there wasn't. No storms on the way, no earthquakes, tidal waves, huge wildfires. The country was pretty stable at the moment, so the only way for them to get good training was a simulation.

"I'm kinda nervous about being back," Ojiro confessed. Ace and Luffy nodded, saying it had been a scary experience, but had helped them in the long run. The other two nodded and Thirteen came out.

"Hello, Ace, Luffy, Sato and Ojiro, it's good to see you. I'll be calling you by your hero names for now. I'm surprised more didn't come, but that's good for you. I know all of your quirks and how they could be good for rescuing. Let's get started, shall we? And there will be no villains this time." The others nodded and followed her inside. "Do you remember my speech about the ease of accidentally killing someone?"

Ace and Luffy nodded solemnly. "That is why we're practicing with dummies first, and then real people. I will tell you how you will help. Usually you'd learn yourself, but with rescuing you need to know the basics, there will be no secrets, but you will improve." They nodded.

"Lu's power is best for bringing attention. Being in the air and directing help to people who need it. Based on what I've seen already, he can carry up to three people. He can also move debris. So his power will be useful in that sense." Ace was wondering what she'd say about him.

"Firefist's would be used more for infiltration or getting to trapped people. Like you did at the villain attack, you can create doors. And when saving people in a wreckage, destroying things isn't wrong. He can melt through rock, meaning he'd easily melt through walls.

"I was told that you burnt through stone without having any of it drip down when melted. That could be of help, and you seem to have control over the temperature of your flames. Yours would be used for emergencies.

"Sugar Man is large, and though Firefist and Lu are very strong, they aren't tall like Sugar Man. He's strong and can lift debris higher due to his height. Lu is for directing help. You two could be a good team at not only fighting but rescuing as well.

"Tailman, your tail is strong and can act like a fifth appendage, correct?" he nodded. "You could move people with your tail. It could support multiple people on your back, keeping them upright with your tail against their back. It's also strong and can break things, giving you an advantage."

All four of them felt praised and Ace and Luffy linked pinkies, grinning. Thirteen told them they'd get into practice. There were life-like dummies around the settings, which they started in fire, first working to realize which spots were safe to get through. It was basic training on how to deal with a fire, how to realize if there's a fire inside, if the door knob is hot. Stay low so the smoke doesn't harm you as much as it could by standing.

After an hour of doing that, they moved on to using their quirks. Ace easily sucked up the flames, leaving the area smoldering but no longer on fire. The fires were turned back on, a machine for creating them that spit them out. Plus, the broken or intact buildings were painted with flammable solutions.

Luffy stayed above the fires, looking for the fireproof dummies, a ball of air around his mouth and nose so he wouldn't breath it in. but that had a time limit depending on how big the ball was. But it worked.

He burst air through doorways to jump in safely. He rescued the dummies, and then burst a hole into the ceilings until he got one to the top. He created a spiral staircase, blowing smoke away and using a shield on one arm to keep any debris from fling directly on them.

The dummies suffered smoke damage, so it wasn't the best course of action. Thirteen was there and said, "Perhaps there's a way to project air from the rest of your body?" Luffy wasn't sure, and she told him to practice on that for an hour and then come back. For anyone else an hour would be too short, but maybe in Luffy's case it wouldn't be.

Ace was perfect at this. Sato had more trouble, unable to lift debris without burning himself. So, he just went to where the dummies were who weren't out of his reach. Ojiro was able to knock debris away with his tail, the burns barely there as it had happened so quickly. He was able to carry more dummies, one under each arm and three on his back, supported by his tail.

"Nice!" Ace congratulated. Ojiro thanked Thirteen for telling him. He said he wouldn't have figured it out on his own. She said that sometimes it's best to give the answer than to wait for someone to figure it out. Especially in this training.

By the end of the hour, Luffy was unable to project it from all body parts, but had been able to get it at a fast enough speed that it surrounded him the whole time, blowing smoke away. He could only carry two people at once, both over his shoulder so he could keep a shield above them.

Luffy could make air armor, but it was thin and feeble, easy to break if he wasn't paying attention well enough.

Three hours were spent in the fire zone. Then there was lunch, and after that, real people were in the fires. But, they were in fireproof suits like the one made for Ace. They were safe, and the debris was not rock anymore, but foam with weights on them. Still heavy but they would not crush the people.

Ace worked with Luffy in this, them practicing together since Ace could bring people out of the fires easily by getting rid of them completely. So he worked with Luffy, putting out fires and giving the people to Luffy to carry up. It was slow going but Ace was getting the fire away, and Luffy was blowing it back every time he reached the building again, putting the survivors in the safe zone.

They got everyone out, Ace able to pull the stones up while Luffy took them out gently but promptly. When there was a room that they couldn't get through, Ace melted a hole in the wall, so hot the rock burnt away before it turned into any liquid. He kept the heat from getting outward and burning anyone else. They both hurried inside and got people out, evacuating them all.

During the week, they'd work in a different disaster each day. Today was a fire, next an earth quake, next a shipwreck, next a storm, and then a mountain with snow on it to save stranded people.

After they were done, all but Ace nursed light burns but nothing too bad. They would heal quickly. But they were all exhausted. "Who wants to go out and get something to eat?" Ace offered once they were back in their normal clothes. All three of the others raised their hands.

They went to the nearest eatery, a sushi bar. They didn't go there much and none of them were overly fond of it, but they were absolutely starving and it was the only restaurant around. So they got the food and ate it rabidly.

"It's nice we're the only ones there. A lot of focus. And I'm glad Thirteen is giving us the answers and advice. I bet none of the other trainees are getting that," Ojiro said. They all nodded, expressing thanks that she was doing this. Then he turned to Ace. "I haven't brought it up yet, but thank you for exposing Shinso. I talked with his other victim later after everything was over." He looked down. "They poor guy was in tears, said his mom had been cheering him on and now he couldn't make her proud. Shinso deserved the reaction from the crowd he got.

"I'm not usually a guy out for vengeance, but he needed to get backlash for his actions. We were a team, he didn't need to brainwash us," he finished. Ace smiled and said he wasn't usually the one to do that either, but somebody was hurt and that needed to be exposed. Even if it hadn't been Ojiro, he probably would have said something. The Tailman nodded with a smile and the four of them finished the food before going back to the train to get home, all going to need a lot of rest for tomorrow.

The week was going great, all four of them were improving, where Luffy and Ace were best in the places that tampered with their vision. In the storm setting which was mimicking a hurricane the most. Sato was best at saving people from the shipwreck since he was bigger and could carry more people on his back. Luffy shined on the mountain one, where he easily found the survivors. Ojiro was best in the rock slide, his tail able to push him off of the ground before he slipped. It was very strong and was able to propel him forward.

Thirteen said that they were stars out of all of the students she'd trained during this week. That they were the most dedicated and versatile with their quirks. It made all of them feel awkward but happy with the praise. They went out for food each night, but not just at the sushi bar, since they became more able to deal with the exhaustion as the week went on.

It was fun and helpful.

When they heard from everyone about their different internships, most of them were for patrolling and dealing with villains on the street or how to be responsible. Few were about fighting, though many had been looking for that.

Tsu and Uraraka were very happy with their internships. Some of the others weren't even doing anything heroic, but were waiting on their heroes. To be honest, the twins thought their training was the most successful. They trained and learned about multiple subjects. And on the last day of the week, on the last hour, Thirteen gave them a pop quiz. They were each able to answer every question correctly. Thirteen was very happy with this, and said it was a pleasure to work with them.

The four gave each other high fives. It was a satisfying experience. And every night, Gunhead made sure to make time to hear all about it. He hadn't called them "his boys" again, but when they thanked him for feeding them on a night they were feeling down and a bit useless, he sternly said that was what decent parents did, and none of them acknowledged the words.

-x-

The next hero class they had with All Might was to show off their new moves, apparently? But the four of their fellow rescue trainees hadn't improved much in that sense. So some might not do best.

Before they went in the first batch, they asked All Might if they could work together on this one. They'd been working apart for a while in the hero classes, and wanted to work together on something like this. He told them that was fine as they were striving to be a duo.

When they were ready, against Ashido, Sero, Iida and Ojiro, and it started, Luffy jumped into the air and propelled himself forward with a blast of air from one hand. Ace, however, was hanging off of Luffy, one arm gripped around his neck and shoulders and sent fire in the way of everybody, blocking all their routes. They shouted profanities at the two, but they reached the end goal in less than two minutes. When they made it, Ace released the fire, which hadn't damaged anything. Ace and Luffy gave high fives. "You were a little tight around my neck, and I also need to move my hand closer to the middile for my back so I don't swerve. But I think it was good for a first try!"

All Might complemented their ease of fighting together. They thanked him, and the others raced each other, all the way behind the winners. They demanded All Might if that was fair. "They are striving to be duo heroes. It makes sense to have them work together," he pointed out. They dropped, but admitted that was true.

"No hard feelings?" Ace asked. They huffed a "yeah, yeah". But the next round, they were shocked with Midoriya's sudden control! He wasn't hurting himself but using his power to propel him forward! They were so relieved that he might have control enough not to damage his body. Bakugo wasn't happy, of course, with Midoriya's improvement. But also because their friend was mimicking what he'd seen of Bakugo's movements. Midoriya was improving, whether Bakugo liked it or not.

The rest of the class seemed happy with his improvement, though. But he didn't win and slipped on the pipe, falling and losing. But it was definitely better than before. They were proud of him.

A week later, they were told it was two weeks until their final exam. Much of the class protested loudly that they'd just been done with their hero internships and needed a break. Ace and Luffy just were taking notes on what the teacher was saying about the exam. Nobody knew what it would be like.

Aizawa asked, "Do you think pro-heroes have breaks between their jobs?" Ace and Luffy exchanged a glance, thinking Aizawa was going overboard. The pro-heroes had shifts. Gunhead had shifts, he wasn't working 24 hours, 7 days a week. But the others didn't know that besides Todoroki since he had a parent in the hero business.

The class drooped. Aizawa wasn't done explaining and told them it wasn't just a written exam, there was a practical component with it as well. "Make sure you train your mind and bodies at the same time. That's all." Then he left.

Multiple students shouted in panic that they hadn't studied at all. Ace and Luffy didn't understand procrastinators. It seemed to only make the experience worse than doing it on time or ahead of time. Momo sighed, and exchanged glances with the other two smartest, who shrugged.

With the midterms, Momo was the top, then Ace, then Luffy, then Bakugo, then Iida, then Midoriya, the top 6 of the class. Bakugo was behind Ace and Luffy once again. Always was. Honestly, if Ace and Luffy weren't so likeable and friendly, they'd probably be resented for being the top of most things. But everyone also knew they worked themselves to the bone like no one else could or wanted to.

They weren't snobby and didn't look down on anyone else, even if they were the stupidest person or the meanest. And the two were glad when nobody asked them for help and only Momo. They had things to do and weren't allowed to bring anyone to the house since it was Gunhead's residence. Nobody really knew there was a house attached in the back since the dojo was so damn big. And it was hidden in the backyard by trees before the grass field made up the rest of the yard.

Momo seemed more than happy to do it. Uraraka did approach and ask if they were open to helping her out. "I don't think our way of working would help anyone, to be honest. We're kind of intense about it."

Midorya told them that they'd learned everything from elementary school to junior high in four months instead of six. Said they'd been homeschooled and nobody pointed out that they wouldn't need to learn all of that in four months if they'd been homeschooled. "Sorry," Ace said awkwardly.

"It's fine, I understand. You guys are really overachievers, though! I don't think I could handle that much at once," Uraraka said, and then was welcomed to join the larger study group with Momo at the head.

At lunch, they were talking about the exam and what they thought would be possible for it. Not the test, but the practical part. Luffy said, "Maybe there will be matches again like at the sports festival, only harder."

Ace nodded. "We could be against pro-heroes, but that might be too much. But we did all fight against villains." Uraraka said she really didn't want to fight the teachers. Ace said, "I don't know, I think it'd be fun. Then we could use the ultimate move we came up with." Luffy beamed and nodded. It was very powerful.

"It accidentally destroyed part of our yard. Fried the grass and fence." The others looked at them blankly. "Well, that's why we'd want to fight a teacher." They were all brainstorming before a weird guy from class B bumped into Midoriya's head and started to taunt them. Ace and Luffy were unaffected but the others grew angry at what he was saying.

Finally Luffy asked, "Why are you rude to us? Do you think we liked being attacked by villains? Do you think that was fun? Going through something like that, don't you think we deserved a little more experience? Many of us would have been happy to be less strong but also not having to go through a near-death experience. You should respect everyone, even if you think something they did was wrong. Because if you don't, then you'd be in the wrong," and he went back to eating. The table was silent before the guy walked off.

"Wow, you got him to go away!" Uraraka said.

"Being the bigger person is always the right thing to be," Luffy said simply. "The best way to deal with a bully if you can't ignore them is to make them feel bad about what they were doing. Don't let them win by letting them bait you. Not everyone needs to be a Bakugo."

Tsu asked where they learned that if they were homeschooled for so long.

Ace honestly replied, "Books. And then finding it works in junior high." Midoriya pointed out that they were like the bug spray of bullies last year. Uraraka wished she could be perfect like they were. Both of them frowned deeply. "We're not perfect and we don't want anyone to think we are," he said a little sternly.

Tsu said, "They're talented and determined. Nobody is perfect." Luffy nodded in agreement with her.

Ace and Luffy never had and would never see themselves as perfect. They were good at a lot of the things they attempted. But that wasn't _them._ They had huge abandonment issues, low self esteem and self worth, and couldn't be away from one another without freaking out. They still sometimes felt that Gunhead would kick them out and they'd lose every blessing they'd been given.

No matter how many times the pro-hero promised them he won't kick them out, it was a knee jerk reaction to be afraid of being on the streets again. They couldn't help it and were grateful that Gunhead never got mad at them for it. Just assured them calmly that that wouldn't happen.

Once they were done talking, a girl with red hair in a side ponytail came and told them that the practical exam would be combat against the robots. The twins did not think that was it. They'd dealt with them twice already. It wouldn't be challenging to do it a third time. They still thought it would be something much harder. And they hoped it wasn't boring.

When they got back to class, everyone started to cheer at being against robots. The two didn't want to burst their bubbles, but they also didn't want them to fail. "I don't think it will be against robots," Ace said loud enough for everyone in the class to hear. "We've all already been up against them twice, we know their weaknesses. What would the point be of testing us on something so easy?"

They were all quiet, thinking it over. Ashido asked what they thought it would be then. "I would assume it would be against pro-heroes. They're the hardest obstacle, right?" The class looked horrified. "Don't freak out! Just, be prepared to fight people, I guess."

Todoroki said, "I agree. The robots are outdated for both classes." The mood was gloomy. Bakugo then exploded after Uraraka said he was upset over Deku's improvement. He threatened Midoriya with actual _death_ and then blew up at Ace and Luffy next. While Midoriya looked uncomfortable and shocked, Ace and Luffy kept a calm straight face.

It pissed him off more, as Midoriya was still uneasy around him and used to being afraid. Ace and Luffy had never taken his bait and had never acted afraid of him. So he was angry at them for pretty much existing.


	13. AceLu vs The Unstoppable

**chickie434: I think you'll like this chapter.**

**Anima_Moonoo: Thank you! Both Gunhead and 13 aren't given much screen time in the anime or manga, so I was able to change their personalities to my own versions since there is so little to go off of lol.**

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**Sorry about the late update, but it's on the right day! Only 8:00. This chapter has some bad ass twin moments. Before the summer camp, they have their finals. And who will they be put up against? Hmmm? Enjoy~**

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Ace and Luffy knew they weren't the only ones studying non-stop and exercising and training. They didn't need to study, but they wanted to go the extra mile. Like they always did. While they didn't mean to be, necessarily, they wouldn't deny that being near or at the top of the class was nice. It felt good to be rewarded by their intense work. Always going over the limit might not be great if they didn't get praised or recognized from it. Not just from the students but the teachers as well.

They loved being recognized and having people see worth in them. It felt warm and fuzzy, knowing people wanted them around, weren't pretending to be friends so they could get something from you and then ditch. Not show affection but once they grew more talented kicked them off and left them in the dust.

It just felt _nice._

Each day of the written exams, a total of three, they both finished the exam within half an hour, checking over everything four times at least. Because of that, they weren't the first to be truly finished and turn the paper over. Momo did that first, and then Iida, followed by the twins and then Todoroki. They were the top five smartest in the class. Midoriya was sixth for this time.

After the written exams came the practical one, and Ace and Luffy weren't surprised to get to the place they were directed to see all of the teachers waiting for them. "Ahhh! Ace was right!" Ashido screamed in horror. If all of them were gathered, they were obviously all included. "How did you know?!"

Ace repeated, "Using bots would be useless. This was the only way to test if we improved or not.

They were all in their costumes, Ace and Luffy in the back, linking pinkies. They knew they'd be a pair since that was how all of the teachers were referring to them by now. Aizawa ignored the class's loud voices until they all quieted to listen to the directions.

The cheery thing he started out with was telling them that they could absolutely fail, and that if they wanted to go to the training camp then they couldn't make any stupid mistakes. The exam would be what let them go to the training camp. So, there was something at risk for those who failed. Not that all of them believed Aizawa's claim after he had lied to them about being expelled.

"You all seem to be informed a bit on what we are all doing here. Teams of two will be fighting the teachers. The pairs have already been chosen. Those who are working to be in pairs as heroes will stay in a pair," he said before one of the twins even had to ask. Some moaned, having wanted to be in a team with one of those two.

They were also already assigned to a teacher based on various reasons, including skill, smarts, and interrelations between both students in the assigned pair. Ace and Luffy wondered who they'd be up against. "All Might will be fighting two fights today. One will take longer than the other. It made sense for both of these groups to fight him." Then he listed who was with and against who.

Ace and Luffy were the first match against All Might. They both grinned. Todoroki and Momo were against Aizawa. Bakugo and Midoriya were in a team, the second match against All Might. They both gasped and the class looked nervous. This was clearly planned based on their relationship, not their fighting style or grades.

These two, especially Bakugo, weren't compatible, making it even more of a test for them to complete this when working together. Ace and Luffy felt sorry for Midoriya.

The other pairs made more sense, since they both had at least one thing in common which would make team work a bit easier for them than Bakugo and Midoriya. Ace and Luffy were first so All Might could have a rest in between them and his next match, which would be last. The time limit for the exam was thirty minutes, and they either had to handcuff the "villain" or get to the gate to exit.

Ace and Luffy looked at each other. "If it seems too hard and we're tired, to the gate. Otherwise, let's do our best to defeat the villain." Luffy nodded and they both adjusted their helmets. "I'll carry the handcuffs," the older said. All of them were told that damaging their surroundings was all right now.

After exchanging unnecessary banter and facts about running away being the right choice sometimes, it was time for the first match. The others wished them both good luck against the pro-hero that was steadily growing weaker. But he wasn't weak now, obviously. Besides, their haki would be great.

They headed to the right place, seeing they were at the building area that they'd been to before. Ace and Luffy were holding hands as they walked into the ring before they let go, and both silently went in All Might's direction, finding him to the left and halfway through one street. They walked into the street facing All Might, where they knew he was.

"I'm not surprised you were able to find me first. I won't go easy on you. I'm the villain," he said. Both of them knew what he was going to do first, he would send a blast of wind at them. It would slam them backwards. The moment he pulled his fist back. Ace grabbed onto Luffy and Luffy put up an air shield behind him and in front.

So when the bust of air came, it didn't move them one inch, keeping in the same place thanks to the vertical air stair that Luffy had put at his back. While the debris and dust was there, All Might moved and both of them dodged to the side, even through the rubble. They saw each other's hand movements, and one was to run to the nearest alleyway on the left.

They were going to make it to the rooftops. And Ace grabbed onto Luffy as he ascended silently and they both crouched down to watch what he was going to do. Luffy nodded to Ace, who leapt down, blasting fire at him, which he guarded against. It blinded the man for a moment and he wasn't expecting Luffy to jump through the fire and grab onto his face, linking his arms around the front of his neck and pulling backwards while Ace kicked in his knee.

Well, they tried to. He didn't move an inch. "I'm not like normal opponents, boys." And both of them jumped off and ducked under a punch. And then flipped backwards before a kick. He shot after them and both of them barely moved out of the way, but did. "It looks like this might not be a quick match after all." Ace and Luffy were silent, observing him with a blank face. This was a new experience, and they were soaking everything in. They didn't need to win quickly.

"We're not here to win overwhelmingly, we're here to learn as best as we can," Ace said darkly. All Might laughed at their words. Luffy instantly through fire bombs at him, compressed dangerously. All Might dodged and the building behind him exploded into pieces, throwing debris everywhere that Luffy guarded against.

"My, my that's quite dangerous. But you're not aiming at me, are you?" All Might asked, and neither responded. "So quiet."

Ace said, "Monologues are pointless and give away crucial information." And he shot forward, making All Might jump up as fire went under his feet. Ace threw luffy hard and he ended up flying above the target and pushing up against a solid piece of air and formed a lance of air that he aimed at All Might's head. He moved out of the way and a deep crater was formed as the spear penetrated the ground deeply before dissipating.

Ace was already on the other side, and grabbed All Might's leg and burned the clothing off before he was kicked into the nearest building, though he was able to stop his flames against the building, falling down. Luffy paid no attention to it, knowing Ace was fine.

The fight went on, Ace and Luffy landing hits but none of them doing any damage while they both dodged most of All Might's attacks with their observation haki. It was a fight that would last forever and it had already been ten minutes.

Luffy threw more bombs that missed but did severe damage to everywhere around them, blowing up buildings like they were nothing, eclipsing all of Bakugo's bombs. He was probably pissy about that.

Finally, they started to run, but only to get away long enough. All Might didn't sense the urgency and they ran around a corner, knowing that if they did this strong enough everything would burn away and they would have a chance at the gate. All Might better be prepared. The two were both panting slightly. This was much more intense and dangerous than when they fought one another.

They linked hands and started putting together their ultimate attack, breathing heavily as Luffy made wind swirl around them before Ace put his hottest flames in the mix. They both amplified the power and soon intense waves of heat were visible in the air, melting the buildings around and then wiping out the whole area into dust, showing All Might's outfit was burned away and he had heavy burns on his arms and legs.

He said nothing, and Ace threw Luffy as hard as he could at the pro-hero while he was recuperating precious seconds, and Luffy flipped, nearly putting the hand cuffs on but being slammed down on the ground. Luffy made a pained noise and All Might didn't notice Ace was there from behind until he felt the heat.

He had caught the handcuffs and kicked All Might hard into the small of his back before latching one of the cuffs on. He was fine while Luffy's helmet had cracked and he was bleeding from the side of his face. Ace picked him up asking if he was okay in worry.

Luffy nodded. "Good job," he said. Ace grinned and returned that.

"Boys, when and how did you learn that move?" he asked. They looked at his burns. "We all have Recovery Girl, you know." Both of them sighed, having forgotten that.

Ace put Luffy on the ground, whose ankle was a little swollen from hitting the ground so hard at the last minute. "We tried at home but it wiped out some of the backyard. Neither of us knew how far it would reach." They looked around at the decimated landscape. "We didn't think it would do _this."_

Luffy wiped the blood off of his face from the cut from one eyebrow to his chin. "We'll never use this again," he said. "If there were other people or animals here, their bodies wouldn't even be left. You're really strong, I don't know how you did that," Luffy said in awe.

All Might laughed. "I am the symbol of peace. I can't let some burns do me in." Both boys looked at him with wide eyes. Gunhead was the favorite, but All Might was completely different in comparison. And it was sad he was losing that power. "May I ask how you dodged so perfectly. I won't tell anybody else."

Ace and Luffy looked at one another before nodding. "We named it 'haki'. Ever since we were little we could sense where people are in our minds, like a sixth sense or something. That's how we found you, we sensed your presence. The stronger someone is, the stronger the presence. We can also see what they'll do less than a second before they do it. Someone without quick reflexes would be wasted on that part," Luffy explained honestly.

The gate was gone completely, so they just walked out of the area. That training ground would never be used again. "That is very interesting. I have not heard of that before. I will keep your secret. You two will make wonderful heroes." They both grinned. "I'm sure Gunhead will be proud. I recognize your moves. I will not tell anyone this either," he swore.

When they made it back to the observation room, everybody was shocked. Ace and Luffy were both tired and went to Recovery Girl to fix Luffy's face and ankle before All Might had his burns heal.

"H-How are you that strong?" Kirishima asked.

"Because we have each other. Neither of us could have done that by ourselves," Ace replied, sitting against the wall. Luffy sat next to him.

"Those explosions were huge! Nothing like the ones at USJ!" Kaminari shouted. Ace explained that the more compressed the air bomb, the more it exploded. Bakugo looked shocked and horrified. His power had been eclipsed by their bombs. Kaminari asked if that was what wiped out some of their yard. Ace nodded. "Wow. I'm jealous. I wish I had a partner to enhance my moves like that!"

Jiro said, "You two have great teamwork." They thanked them, and immediately fell asleep, exhausted. They captured All Might. Couldn't defeat him easily if he had survived that heal wave, if at all.

They woke up near the end of the last match and saw both Midoriya and Bakugo being decimated by All Might, clumsy and with little to no teamwork. They failed miserably compared to the brothers, and got out of the emergency gate in nearly the thirty minutes. They were both feeling better and more energetic and got up, a little sore from sitting on the hard floor that whole time.

Both of the last group were heavily injured by All Might. Ace and Luffy's haki might have saved them from those injuries as well. They would be staying longer in the infirmary. On their way out, with Ace and Luffy being covered in dust and ash still, people ran up after them. There were a handful who hadn't passed, but most of them did.

Ace and Luffy were still tired, having depleted a lot of energy with that final move. "You guys are crazy strong. I didn't think it was this much, I thought you were strong physically."

Luffy said, "We're strongest when we're together. I mean, I like to think I'm strong by myself, but we're definitely better together."

Tokoyami asked how Luffy wasn't burned by the heat, how he wasn't fried with everything else that was now dust and ash. Like a nuclear bomb had gone off. "My fire has never been able to burn Luffy. Like it knows not to burn its brother. Even when we were little and I would catch on fire when I was asleep, it never burned him and we often slept right through it."

Tsu said, "I guess that shows how much you adore one another." Ace nodded and Luffy smiled.

"We've been through a lot together," Luffy said simply. Those who had passed their exams were free to go home while those who lost were to stay behind and talk about what to do next.

When they got home, they passed out on the bed still in their shoes, not even taking their backpacks off. They woke up for dinner, Ace's phone buzzing. Gunhead probably made an alarm for them and they left to find he was making food. "Morning sleepyheads. How'd the exam go?"

Luffy yawned and both of them sat at the table. "We vaporized one of the ground beta copycats. Burnt All Might pretty bad, too," the younger twin said. Gunhead froze. "It was like a super version of what messed up the fence and grass."

"Wow. I knew you both were strong, but that's almost alarming," he said, serving the food. Ace laughed and said, "Don't worry, it was really hard to do. We won't do it in our sleep. We also used a lot of bomb balls and ruined a couple buildings."

"And All Might knows about our haki, but promised to not tell anyone," Luffy added, stuffing his face. They were both starving and ate thirds, which Gunhead made sure to make. The pro-hero said he trusted All Might to keep his word. He said he was proud that they held their own against the symbol of peace. They both smiled, and then went to bed early, at least changing into pajamas this time.

Two days later, and the semester was over. The summer camp would be held in a couple weeks. They were both pretty bored during the ceremony announcing the first semester over. They had everything they needed, not having gone shopping with the class for their things, but together, wanting to be able to talk openly about past things.

They bought all of the supplies needed and the big duffle bags. They'd never gone to a camp, and only just learned about it a couple weeks ago when it was announced. Everyone had been excited while the brothers had no idea what it was like. They'd sat a bit awkwardly before Midoirya explained what it was.

A few days into summer vacation, Midoriya called Ace and Luffy about going to the pool. They had just woken up, already slipping into the sleep-till-2 pm funk. They'd been playing their new video game console, which Gunhead got without asking them for a present for ending their first semester with perfect scores on almost everything. It had kept them up until 3:00, when Luffy passed out first and they woke up to the phone with popcorn everywhere.

"Pool?" Luffy asked with a yawn.

"Yeah, a lot of the class is going," Midoriya explained. "Mom says she can pick you up and bring you guys if you want. You guys sound like you just woke up, though." Ace said that was because they did. But going swimming sounded fun. They had swim shorts fitted for them by the school, so they weren't missing trunks.

They agreed to go, and pushed their sleepiness away. They'd slept enough to function just fine. Besides, if one of them drowns, the other will rescue him. They'd been forced to learn how to when they were little and had no quirks. Their parents didn't want them to be useless. So at four, they learned how to swim.

They didn't do it much anymore, but it sounded nice. A cold bath wasn't anything like swimming. They'd gone by themselves to the beach, but never a pool. They stood in the bathroom, conflicted. They had shirts to wear, and they weren't sure if they should bother.

Both of them had moved on from them, but they didn't want the scars and burns on their backs to make everyone look down on them. And they didn't care if the others thought they were silly for hiding them. They were bad. When Gunhead had seen them the first time they were brought to his house, he'd accidentally shattered his mug of coffee in his hand.

Thick scars and bright burn marks littered their skin. Their parents didn't treat them well and then when they were out on the street they got plenty of injuries. But, what if they showed them, and everyone saw how happy they were? Would they learn that you can be happy even with an upsetting past?

Well, they put the shirts on anyway so if they decided not to show them, they would have that opportunity. Not even Midoriya had seen the marks, and they'd had sleepovers at his house. Ever since school started, both of them felt like they'd drifted apart a bit. Midoriya now had other friends, and Ace and Luffy did as well. They didn't need to protect him or babysit him anymore.

They'd never seen their friendship as babysitting him, but he was confident on his own and didn't seem to need them around all the time. Things had been going great and they were all happy until that day on the bus, that they found out he'd been lying to them about something huge.

Both of them now have chipped away a lot of trust. They couldn't help it, they had a terrible reaction to lies and Midoriya knew that. He didn't know why, but he still knew that. That lies hurt them badly. Even if he had been gagged and said he had wanted to tell them… well, he could have told them the truth.

Say that he had a secret and he was not allowed to tell them. They wouldn't have been lied to if he'd done that. Being lied to was a staple when they lived with their biological parents. They would say they loved them, only to pour boiling water on their backs the next day. Say they'd go out for a nice meal when they'd end up with stale bread instead.

Lies were scars to them. Well, not scars, still open. Open wounds and lies just dribble salt on them. They still loved Midoriya, but were no longer as close. If Midoriya noticed, he was fine with it as well.

They went to the bus stop where Midoriya and his mom were waiting in their car. Both of them had their shirts on and towels. The four of them made small talk before they walked onto campus and Mineta and Kaminari asked Aizawa if they could use the pool for endurance training. Ace and Luffy hadn't heard about this.

Neither of them came here to train, they wanted to relax for once. And they also knew neither Mineta or Kaminari would ever volunteer for work like that. How was Aizawa trusting Mineta of all people on this. And Midoriya was completely fooled.

There were many people who showed up, and Ace and Luffy weren't shy to show they weren't here for training and just floated around on their backs, eyes closed. "Why are you guys wearing shirts?" Mineta asked.

Ace opened his eyes. "We didn't have the best childhood."

Many didn't understand what they meant, but Todoroki did. "Scars. You don't always want to show people proof of problems," he said. He touched his face, unable to hide the terrible burn. Ace nodded in agreement.

"I thought you guys had the best home life and that's why you're always happy," Sero said, sitting with his legs in the water. Luffy replied honestly.

"That's why we're happy all the time. We know what it's like to _not_ be happy," he said with his eyes closed. There were some small "oh"s. But everyone moved on, sloshing the water around as some actually trained. But Ace and Luffy had not heard about that part and could not be told to do that when they didn't know.

Well, that was their excuse. Ace and Luffy stayed out of their way near the edge of the pool in the more shallow part. Iida actually asked, "We're supposed to be endurance training, you guys."

"We weren't alerted to that when we were invited. That argument is void for us," Ace said, hiding a smirk. Everyone gasped at their answer. "We don't _never_ take breaks from training and studying, you know. We're here to relax. We trained for six hours yesterday, we deserve a break," Ace kept himself from pointing out that that was better than staring at the girls.

The beach ball from the girls was about to hit Ace in the face before he swatted it away, eyes still closed as they floated around some more. Nobody said anything about it, since they were in the corner and minding their own business. Nobody was watching them.

"Hey, Ace, Luffy! Do you want to play with us?" Hagakure invited.

"Maybe later. We're sore and this feels nice," Luffy said politely. The girls said okay, not at all bothered. Both of them felt angry presences from the side of the pool. Jealous, probably.

"Hey, hey, Ace, can you turn the pool into a hot tub?" Ashido asked. Ace nodded. "Guys, let's do that!" she called to the others. "You've been training hard, right? The hot water will let you relax," she said in a knowing voice. The others all agreed and jumped in, even Bakugo got in without a word.

Ace easily raised the temperature of himself and therefore the surrounding water until it was perfect and steaming, everyone melting into the water. "This is nice," Sero sighed. The others nodded in agreement and the pool was full of relaxed and lethargic students. Even Iida was relaxing. The water was slightly steaming, the perfect temperature. Just below boiling. Ace kept the heat coming off of him for them all.

The water got cold suddenly and everyones' eyes widened. "I thought this was for endurance training. Pool time has ended, go home," Aizawa said. He didn't sound angry at them, which was a nice surprise. They went home happy, walking since they weren't tired anymore.

"We gotta get back to the normal sleep schedule. And to train, we were lazy today," Ace said, Luffy agreeing. "I doubt the training camp will be as Midoriya explained it. It's gonna be hard and probably not like a vacation."

Luffy said, "There's nothing we can do about that, but let's try to have fun." Ace grinned and nodded, linking pinkies. "We'll have tons of fun," the younger twin said with a nod, finalizing the announcement.


	14. Before The Nightmare

**Anime_Moon00: I don't think I was ever very good at fight scenes, them never being very long, but I do think I've improved. So thank you for the compliments!**

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**Ngl next chapter is very dark. I look forward to posting it. Anyways, enjoy this one. Some funny Luffy bits lol.**

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Aizawa was back at it again, trying to scare the students about some other event. They were outside the school waiting to get onto the busses to be taken to the camp. He told them this wouldn't be fun and would be basically all around terrible. Nobody looked concerned, all used to his negative views on everything.

Ace had no doubt that this training camp would be grueling and exhausting, but they'd get stronger from it and have some fun with a new experience. The same guy who was being rude to class A before suddenly made himself known and attempted to make them upset, but nobody was buying it.

"Oh, class B!" Luffy said with a smile.

"Hi, Luffy! You were so cool in the final battle! You, too, Ace! I can't believe how strong you are," some of the girls said. Mineta demanded to know why they were being so nice to Luffy and Ace. Iida was the one to answer.

"Luffy was the one to encourage everybody, not just our class, as well as not interfering with the others in the obstacle course," Iida explained.

Mineta erupted, "What about when he stole everybody's bands! That wasn't cool!" the others were looking at him in pity. A girl with horns from the other class said that they got to play again, and it wasn't much of a big deal. And that it had shown how smart they were.

The tiny pervert collapsed onto his knees and hit the ground with his fist. "Why…? Why? They're not even interested!" he lamented. The girls looked at him in wariness while the guy's in pity.

Jiro said harshly, "Maybe if you weren't such a pervert you would have girls like you as a person, too. Besides, a girl liking a guy doesn't mean she's in love with him." The girls around nodded in agreement and Luffy just laughed.

As bubbly as ever, he said, "I'm sure we'll have a fun time even if it's hard." The other class nodded, even the guys nodding along with him. Luffy had not just charmed the audience and world, but also their fellow first years.

They were called to board the busses, class A in one with class B in the other. When they got inside, Mineta glared at Luffy the whole bus ride, but Luffy barely noticed it. He was talking with the others around them about the kinds of things they thought they'd do. Since Luffy had never been to any summer camp, they were telling him what _normal_ ones are like.

Ace was napping, his head thumping against the window every few seconds. Bakugo was at the front of the bus, not bothering anybody, which was odd. But nobody seemed to be in a bad mood and there was an air of excitement. Not even Aizawa's depressing monologue dampened everyone's excitement.

After an hour, the busses stopped in front of what seemed like a look out, fenced in and on a cliff above the forest that sloped downwards. Some guys were peeing over the edge while the girls complained about how much easier it was for a guy to piss than a girl, which was a... _unique_ conversation. Luffy had his hands behind his head, looking out at the scenery.

"How much you wanna bet we stopped here and are making our way down in a forest full of monsters?" Ace asked easily. Luffy said he wouldn't bet against him or he'd lose his own money.

Sero heard and said, "What's with that fantasy? Don't say something so disturbing!" Ace shrugged, and Luffy laughed.

"If that's what happens then we'll be having fun from the start!" the younger twin explained. Those around them vehemently denied that being any fun. They called Luffy an adrenaline junkie. Well it was true in one sense. He and Ace loved being active and having their heart pumping. Even if it was in fear of a scary movie. Small fears, like losing a battle. Not the fear they felt when they were separated at USJ.

The fear of being apart was more intense than any other fear they'd felt as long as they could remember. The scars of their past fused them together and it was painful to try and pull them apart.

When the car that was sitting there with people in it finally brought attention to itself, people didn't just get out they _exploded_ out. Two of them, dressed in what seemed like robotic, sexualized, halloween cat costumes, and one young kid that looked just done with them. They loudly introduced themselves as the wild wild pussycats.

Midoriya started to explain all about them without anyone being able to actually hear what he was saying and understand it before the blue pussy cat grabbed his face and said she was "18 at heart".

Luffy asked, "Why does your age matter?" loudly. The others looked at him in shock and he realized he shouldn't have said anything. The blue one said, "When you grow up, you'll understand," he like he was stupid. He didn't want to get in an argument so he said, "Oh, okay." and the issue was over. Ace was snickering at his little brother.

The pink one introduced the land as owned by them, and the camp was at the base of the mountain. Both of the brothers moved to the railing, knowing what would happen next. The kids all tried getting back to the bus, but Luffy and Ace knew the situation and jumped onto the railing. "No… we're getting back to the bus. C'mon, we're going back to the bus!" Ashido said, in denial.

"No we're not. It's fun already!" Luffy said with a grin. The kids were sprinting back to the bus, and Lufy turned to the pink one. "Can we get a head start?"

"Go for it," she said and both jumped off.

"Race you to the bottom!" Luffy shouted and they landed easily, sprinting into the forest. They would not be missing lunch and would be the first to make it down. Ace said they weren't allowed to use their quirks, and had to rely on strength only. "Deal!"

It was only a couple seconds later that the look out crumbled. "Damn it, why'd you have to say that?! You jinxed us!" Kaminari screamed about Ace predicting this happening. It was easy to foresee when they stopped at a place with no bathrooms or anything. It wasn't likely that Aizawa would just show them the forest and they'd get back in the bus and drive the rest of the way there.

"A monster! Ace, we're counting how many we take out!" Luffy said excitedly. Ace agreed, and Luffy called this one, landing a kick through its head and then legs, killing the beast made of rock and dirt. They could hear the others getting further away and screaming about something. Well, they weren't even in the twins' minds as they took down monster after monster, cutting themselves on small branches as they brawled.

"Twelve!"

"I got fourteen!"

"You are not beating me again, Luffy!" Ace said, referring to the bots in the entrance exam where Luffy got three more than he did. Luffy laughed and they gave the monsters an absolute beating, slamming them into trees, breaking trees to make them fall on them and crush them, any move that didn't use any aspect of their quirks.

They couldn't even hear anybody from behind anymore as they raced down the mountain. It felt like some anime where the main characters lived in a huge forest and then took down huge monsters and ate them, competing with each other while doing so. That was a fun one to watch.

Ace slammed his heels into one of the monsters and crushed its head before moving on. They were just making it easier for the others by taking down the beasts for them. They were right, this camp was fun already. Challenging their skills and bravery at the same time. The others had barely entered the forest once they were out of haki range, which was huge, so they were pretty far away.

Honestly, they would have been bummed if they had gotten on the bus and drove the rest of the way. They one-shotted most of the beasts, usually going for the eyes or head and punching or kicking through it.

When both of their fists got bloody, they agreed to only use protection on their arms. So Luffy formed a shield on his knuckles so the impact wasn't as harsh. An hour in and both of them were hungry already. Lunch time would be too late when they got there.

Ace was already planning ahead as they were getting closer to the bottom, running as fast as the slope let them and dodging trees perfectly, not tripping on roots or bushes. It was like they were both flying and then as an afterthought taking out the beasts. They seemed to reform slowly, but by then the twins were long gone.

"It's in haki range!" meaning they had about another mile until they reached the camp, which they felt was a small cluster of presences. One of them was Aizawa. Ace said he felt it too. The monsters weren't as frequent here, meaning the heroes had planned on making the start the hardest, tiring them from the beginning and then making them do a downhill walk while tripping all over roots. "Ace, grab something to eat!" Luffy shouted, taking out a larger monster.

"Okay, be right back!" his brother replied and branched off, both of them sensing wildlife. The wildlife wasn't running from the monsters, so they might be used to it or know that they're just moving mounds of earth. They were twenty minutes away before Ace came back to Luffy, carrying a doe over his shoulder and now only using kicks to one-shot the beasts.

Ace wasn't even tired by carrying the deer. This was a new type of endurance training. It was fun and made their hearts beat faster, not just because of the exertion, but not knowing what's next other than sensing movement with haki. After all, these monsters weren't alive, so they didn't give presences, only showing that there were moving objects in front of them.

"How many you got?!"

"67! What about you?"

"72! I'm gonna win again~!" Luffy taunted. Ace threatened to light him on fire. "That would be cheating, we're not allowed to use our quirks," the younger twin pointed out. "I wonder how the others are holding up."

Ace said, "Probably not well. They can't predict the monsters' movements and be able to dodge every single tree. Besides, we're not just fighting, we're running off, too. We don't wait for the monsters to reform."

"We're not here to kill them permanently. They can't come after us fast enough since they're big and made of dirt. But they will reform for the others. Poor guys, I hope they'll be okay," Luffy said in worry.

Ace pointed out that even if they did get seriously hurt, nobody would be dying on the first day. There had to be some sort of rescue if things went wrong. Both weren't very exhausted, though their feet and hands were a bit sore. These weren't the best shoes for this. Boots would have been preferable over sneakers. They sensed and opening in the tree line and shot out, landing hard on the ground, the deer falling down and Ace falling against it. Luffy hit the ground, not a soft furry body.

"87! Beat that!" Luffy said, covered in dirt and small cuts.

"Oh, little brother, how tragic. 91," Ace said, laughing. Luffy laughed, saying he won this time. They dusted off a bit before heading inside the cabin. "We got here first! And brought lunch," Ace called. They heard exclamations from inside. It had taken them around 2 hours. "I'm hungry, is lunch ready?"

The two wild, wild pussycats looked at the battered teens in shock. "It only took you two hours?" the pink one asked. Ace and Luffy looked a little embarrassed, and said they hadn't eaten much that morning and we're kind of hungry. Aizawa said, "Good work. Unload your bags from the bus and we can have lunch." Ace and Luffy nodded, asking if they needed the deer meat. "No, we have enough food, burn that and toss it away so wild animals aren't attracted."

Ace nodded and Luffy went to the van to get both of their bags and carry them inside. They set them up in the community bedroom, claiming the spots near the inside wall which wouldn't be too cold. They went to the eating room, not looking like a cafeteria, and saw the food laid out. "Oooh, it looks so good," Luffy said excitedly.

Ace asked how big their serving size could be. They said as much as they wanted. The twins grinned and took everything they could fit on two large plates. "So, boys, what quirks do you have? They must have helped you get through all of my monsters," the blonde one asked. They both swallowed before answering.

"We tried not to use our quirks but eventually our hands started bleeding so we used a little bit of it, just so we didn't do much damage," Luffy explained. She looked surprised that they hadn't used their quirks.

Ace said it was a competition of strength, not talking of their powers. "But we've never had a competition like that, that was fun."

"I remember you two, now. You were the two winners at each competition at the sports festival." Luffy nodded and grinned, saying that had been fun. "You were quite the charmers."

Ace said, "Luffy can charm anyone. We try to be as positive as we can. Being happy is fun, so why not strive to be happy all the time?" he asked with a smile. Once both of them were full, they asked what they were going to do next.

"When everybody comes, we can have dinner." Ace looked at his watch in confusion, pointing out that it wasn't even 2 yet. "For normal people, that will take hours," the blue one said in amusement.

Both of them heard the pink one say, "I'm surprised you haven't broken their spirits yet, Aizawa."

The teacher said that it was impossible to do for both of them and he just accepted that. She laughed at it. Since there was no cell service here, they could do much but talk and nap. They slept for a few hours, before they sensed the kids coming out of the forest, slow and exhausted. They hurried out to meet them.

"Screw you! When did you make it down?" Sero shouted.

"Four hours ago," Luffy said simply. "You all missed lunch and there are no left overs." They were asked how long it took them to get down. "Two hours."

The others were pissed, but exhausted and many laid or sat down on the ground. They were told to get the bags off of the bus and then go eat. They shot glares at Ace and Luffy who didn't seem tired or sore at all. But they did see both of them had bandages over their fingers and knuckles.

One they were at dinner and not scarfing down food, Midoriya asked why they had bandages on their hands. "They got bloody after punching too many times," Luffy said between bites. "After that we were allowed to only use our quirks to protect our fists. But our legs and feet are pretty bruised. I guess that's what we get for doing that, though."

Kirishima had tears in his eyes. "Are you two human?" he asked sadly, drooping. The twins didn't know how to answer. "Well, whatever. We can't do anything about it now." The others sighed and nodded, and the tense atmosphere around the twins disappeared and they had a great time with great food, even though they were all tired.

After that, there was a bath in the hot spring. Ace and Luffy awkwardly kept their shirts on. They didn't want everyone to see the scars and burns. Nobody said anything about it, which was nice. Mineta was a horrible person and he deserved being knocked down, just not on Iida's face. Poor guy. After that they got dried and dressed and went to bed immediately, Ace and Luffy side by side and making sure not to hold hands in front of other people.

By morning, they found that many of the surrounding sleepers had inched closer to Ace. "The hell?!" he shouted when he was surrounded by the other guys. They all woke up and Luffy started laughing.

"It's because Ace is warm." The others were all embarrassed and didn't make eye contact with Ace. Luffy told him they didn't mean to do anything weird. Ace smiled. "I know, it was just surprising."

It was 5:30 by the time they all had an incredibly rushed breakfast and were now dressed in their gym clothes outside. Most of them were all tired, including Ace and Luffy. They were strong but still humans. Their feet still hurt, but it was manageable. Their hands had been treated but they still had the bandages on.

Everybody was sore from the day before. Aizawa said, "Today the first day of training camp will be working to increase your strength in earnest." He said that the goal was to increase everyone's strength. Luffy and Ace heard whispers that Ace and Luffy didn't need anymore. They didn't feel resented, but it didn't feel nice to be lightly shamed for being strong and giving your all.

Aizawa either didn't hear or didn't care and continued to explain that they were here to help them get through the provisional license, to prepare them to face all hostilities than were coming closer at that moment. They all needed to do their best.

Then the teacher tossed Luffy the baseball from the first day, the fitness test. Luffy looked up, wondering what he had to do with it. "Your previous record was 1,600 meters at the beginning of school, wasn't it?" He was told to throw it.

"Okay." Luffy threw it as hard as he could. It flew off and landed somewhere nobody would ever find it.

"1,620 meters," Aizawa recorded. Luffy thought it would have been more, and so did everybody else. "You've been through a lot in the last three months, and have grown stronger. But most of that is in mental and technical skill, with a little stamina." Luffy was embarrassed. He trained daily, he should have done better than that. "As you can see, your quirks have not improved that much themselves.

"That's why you'll be working on improving your quirks starting today. It'll be so hard it'll feel like you're dying, but try not to actually die."

Minutes later and people were already crying. Todoroki was having a terrible time in the bath, Bakugo was soaking his hands in boiling water and making them explode bigger, Sero was seeing how endless his supply of tape was, Iida was sprinting, Aoyama was making himself ill, Kaminari was shorting out his brain completely, and Ace looked like he was doing nothing. He was just standing there. Aizawa asked what he was doing, but Ace was out of breath.

"Tr-trying to see how long I can stay in this form," he huffed. It was exhausting but looked underwhelming. He felt like he was being torn apart and it did hurt. He looked over to see Luffy punching the tree as hard as he could. It was the third one he'd knocked down. He was trying to form armor around his body with his air shields. His knuckles and legs were bloody as he was kicking the tree as well. He was screaming like everyone else, in pain and just _not_ having a good time.

"THIS. IS. NOT. FUN!" he screamed and pummelled the tree harder. Ace was having trouble not laughing, but he had to hold this form as long as possible.

His was probably the one causing the most blood shed, but others were invisible pain in their own ways. Ace was sagging by the end and Luffy had his hands and legs wrapped in bandages. He could not find it in himself to be happy. That was painful. Sure, he had made progress and was able to use it on certain areas of his body, but it wasn't for offense, it was to protect himself. But it had hurt a lot, so he wasn't happy.

"Look, Luffy's human, too," Kirishima pointed out.

Luffy turned to him and looked like a demon. "Huh?"

"Nothing," Kirishima said. Ace chuckled.

"Of course you're laughing you can still use your hands!" Luffy said.

"No fighting, we have to make dinner," Momo said. Luffy looked at his bandaged hands sadly. He hadn't broken any bones but had skinned his knuckles badly. There were no training bags, the only thing he could hit was other people and objects. Trees were the only option.

Ace said, "I'm sorry I laughed," sincerely.

"I forgive you. Let's make food," Luffy said in a droning voice. Luffy walked forward first, everyone in a daze, and started to prepare the dinner by himself. Aizawa stopped him.

"Everyone needs to work, not just you and Ace," he said. Luffy nodded and everyone got into action. They worked together, making dinner for fifty people. There were some arguments but everyone was too tired to really put any heat into them. They finished the food. And it took exponentially longer to cook than it did to eat it all.

The next day, Luffy had destroyed too many trees and the wild wild pussy cats asked him to stop, so his only choice was to switch with rock. He punched holes into the cliff, screaming profanities the whole time, like Bakugo was, which seemed shocking to everyone else. Ace was glad, it might show that he and Luffy weren't perfect, always happy, wonderful people. They felt pain and emotions, too.

Ace was no longer seeing how long he could last, as it had ended up two hours and instead he was seeing how big of explosions he could make by thrusting all of the fire out at once, competing with Bakugo's explosions. Only Ace's were white and did not make the loud boom that Bakugo's did. Ace was now screaming as well. So they were just massive bursts of flames. He was able to get it to 40 meters before it dissipated. Usually the fire would be hard to see and gain attention, but he had to force himself to the max, not stopping at his comfort zone. His hands were burning by the end after three hours of that, and he went to Todoroki's bathtub and put his hands in.

"Hey, this is my training," he said, exhausted and no heat in his voice.

"I need this too, don't be selfish," and they got into a tizzy that fizzled out almost immediately and they went back to what they were doing. Luffy was now inside the cliff face with rubble and broken rocks around the entrance. More screaming could be heard coming from the Luffy-sized cave.

Everyone was dying and the blue pussy cat told them they would have a test of courage in the woods, both classes competing against one another. You could hear Luffy's voice echoing, "LET US SLEEP DAMN YOU!" from deep inside his man made cave.

It brought laughter to some of those crying, and uplifted the mood. Even when Luffy was mad and not trying to, he made the atmosphere better.

At dinner, Luffy had his hands all wrapped up. "Are you-?"

"M'fine," Luffy mumbled as he tried chopping food with his injured hands. Ace came up and said, "Why don't I do that, Luffy, and you can bring the supplies to the tables?" Luffy made a mumbled sound and walked off to do a new job.

When people took a break, Iida shouted, "You guys! Your hands have stopped moving!" They all heard a bellow somewhere of "My hands are bleeding, what do you want?!" and a small "I don't think he meant you, Luffy". People hid snickers but it got everyone back to work.

When it got dark, they were going to start the test of courage. Luffy was tired and grumpy. "Do I have to do it?" he asked quietly.

Ace said, "We want to beat class B, right? At least, everybody else does. We gotta help. Besides, we're not easy to scare, so we just have to go in and then come back out. Then we can go to bed." Luffy nodded and Ace held his sad, injured hands. Maybe it would have been better to try something else.

"I'm sorry for being cranky, everyone," Luffy said loud enough for the class to hear. They assured him that he didn't always need to be the overly happy one. And that it was understandable he was grumpy. Luffy nodded, glad they weren't mad or irritated at him. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Iida." The taller teen was sure to say it was just fine and he wasn't mad.

When they were supposed to draw tickets for who their partners would be, Ace and Luffy didn't even take one. If anyone got mad, well, they would go back to the house and not participate. Ace wanted to, but Luffy clearly didn't. He felt bad for making him, but Ace felt Luffy would regret not trying it once he felt better and was in a better mood.

When they entered the woods, Luffy was frowning. "This isn't scary at all, nobody is even jumping out." Then they both froze. There were suddenly more people showing up out of nowhere. Then they looked up and saw smoke in the air, and a purple haze drifting through the trees towards them.


	15. A Special Kind of Hell

**Anime_Moon00: Thank you! I really wanted everybody to realize they aren't perfect. There's more angst later, especially about this chapter. Lol you will see why.**

**Acelu for the win: Thanks! I love making Luffy adorable, but usually it's as baby Luffy. So this was new but also really fun. The little angel. Too bad I put him through this chapter.**

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**Warning in this chapter for possibly disturbing imagery. Bad shit happens in this one, beware! Enjoy~**

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_Everyone! We're being attacked by villains! Don't fight and go back to camp as soon as possible!"_ the voice echoing through their heads said. "Up, on my back, Ace," Luffy said. Ace climbed on and Luffy jumped up into the air above the forest, out of the haze, and they saw the fire in the woods. "What do we do? Can we put out the fire or go back to base?" Luffy asked.

His hands were hurting while carrying Ace on his back, but there was nothing else they could do. "We can put the fire out from above and then run back to camp," Ace replied. Luffy nodded and ran forward on his air steps until they were behind the fire where the smoke would be sent to. Ace held onto Luffy with one arm while the other worked to suck the flames up. It would be very obvious.

But then Mandaly's voice came back. " _Class A and class B! The pro-hero Eraser Head says you are granted permission to engage in combat!"_

Luffy and Ace nodded, and ran to the fire for Ace to put out. "I don't know how good I'm going to be at punching, but I'll do my best," Luffy said. Ace started to suck up the flames when another message came through.

" _We have discovered two of the villains' targets. Two of the students, Kacchan and Luffy. Kacchan and Luffy should avoid acting independently. Understand, Kacchan and Luffy?!"_ Both of them froze.

"Wh-What do they want with me?" Luffy asked quietly. Ace said it didn't matter and to get as high as possible. They'd wait it out until the pros got there nobody could get them up that high. So Luffy climbed higher than he ever had, up higher and higher until they couldn't make out anyone on the ground below them.

Luffy was exhausted from the training and making so many stairs seemed to tire him out. He just had to last this long, he had to wait a bit longer. He sat down on it, Ace still on his back. "Don't be scared, I'm with you," Ace assured him, confident they were out of range. "It would be best to hide in the smoke but neither of us can stay in there long without dooming ourselves.

Luffy nodded. "But why do they want me? Why do they want Bakugo? We have nothing in common," he said quietly. Ace said they'd know later, once all of the villains were caught. They saw fighting in multiple places, but the gas had disappeared. "Are we bad people, for not helping anyone?"

Ace replied, "I don't think so. We're not drawing attention to them if we're hiding up here. We'd just get in the way. I think we should head over to camp. There are more people there." Luffy nodded and got to running to the camp area, until they were directly over it but still high up. "Looks like everyone is gathering. Hopefully Aizawa will be here soon." Luffy nodded.

Then they both sensed a presence behind them that was familiar, and Ace was shoved off of Luffy. "Ace!" Luffy screamed as he was grabbed around the neck from a hand coming out of the purple portal.

"LUFFY!" Ace screamed, propelling himself upwards. Luffy made air stairs with his feet and locked his shoes in place, but his feet slipped out, and his shoes fell below. Ace was so close to grabbing his foot before his brother screamed his name again and disappeared into the purple mist, Ace falling back down and landing as fire. Luffy was gone. And he immediately fell apart.

-x-

Ace was looking up at the sky where Luffy had been, calling for his help. He started screaming and erupted into high bursts of white flame, screaming and banging his fist on the ground, tears coming from his eyes. He sobbed out Luffy's names and heart breaking apologies.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Luffy!" he screamed between sobs. He was shaking all over, his tears evaporating once they left his eyes. He continued to scream and sob, his body shaking violently. Then he threw up, a complete and utter mess of himself.

People were shouting his name, running towards him. He was still on fire. People were gathering more and suddenly his flames were gone, and he was just sobbing uncontrollably, still apologizing. Aizawa had erased his quirk.

He ran to him and put his hand on Ace's back. "It's my fault. All my fault! He didn't even want to do it and I m-made him! I did this! I'm so-sorry!" he sobbed. He started to hyperventilate.

"Ace, Ace calm down. I need you to tell me what happened so we can get to Luffy sooner," Aizawa said, for once sounding calm and understanding. Everyone who wasn't hurt were watching with sad eyes, some of the class crying at seeing Ace like this and knowing Luffy was gone.

"I can't do it by myself! I can't do it without Luffy! He's mine, my brother and now I'm here and he's all alone!" Ace sobbed, not hearing Aizawa's words. He put his hand on Ace's back, trying to calm him once again, but he didn't and Aizawa had to blink. So he knocked Ace out with a chop to the neck.

The teen was so distraught that he hadn't been made of fire. He was unconscious when Luffy was who knows where, alone and scared. Ace failed him. It was his fault.

-x-

Luffy was thrown out of the portal and onto a wood floor, his hands catching him and making him hiss at the pain he already had in them. He looked up to see Bakugo, looking just as shocked. For once, he wasn't glaring at him. He looked concerned, and Luffy was grabbed around the neck and shoved into the wall face first before his hands were cuffed and he was thrown into a chair.

Bakugo got the same treatment, and before he could do anything with his quirk, his hands were contained in metal that would hurt himself if he attempted to blow it up. "What do you want?" Luffy asked before Bakugo could, face blank and showing no fear.

He was punched in the cheek. "Gag him, I don't even want to hear his voice. That cheery, disgusting voice and smile," he heard Shigaraki Tomura say, his hand mask on his face. Luffy didn't fight back as he was gagged, knowing it was pointless to do so.

Whatever they wanted from him wasn't good. Nobody was paying attention to Bakugo besides the big guy with fat lips who put a muzzle on him, too. Luffy kept the fear off of his face. He would not give into them.

He expected to be tortured, and he wouldn't show an ounce of fear or pain. He wouldn't disgrace who he'd made himself into. If he were to die, he'd die happy. But he didn't smile yet. He didn't know what they wanted with him and that was important information.

"When I saw you at the stupid sports festival, I thought you were a digsutingly cheery brat. Then, when I saw your bombs, I recognized you. You were the one to kill my nomu. The one to ruin my plans and humiliate me. It wasn't All Might who did it. It was _you._ A weak and bratty child who can't do anything on your own."

Luffy kept a straight face. "So I wanted to ruin your plans. The plans you've had for your life. You can't be a hero if you're broken, now can you? So scared you could never look a villain in the face again," Shigaraki said with a smile in his voice. "Now, let's have some fun. Bakugo can wait for later."

Luffy showed no fear and took the first punch without a flinch.

-x-

Ace was sitting in a bed with his knees up and head down, silent sobs shaking him. He was at the hospital a lot of the students were at. So many were injured, but nobody was killed. Luffy and Bakugo were both taken and nobody knew where. It had been at least 12 hours since the kidnapping.

He blamed himself, but he also blamed everyone at the camp, at U.A.. They were there to protect the students and look at this mess. So many children were injured, traumatized or kidnapped. It was an utter failure on their part, and Ace was angry. Mostly at himself. His last words had been a promise to Luffy that he'd never be alone.

It was like the universe laughed at him and made him break those promises seconds after they were told. Luffy had had such fear in his eyes those last moments. He was gone. The heroes didn't know where either of them were, and were doing their best to find them.

Gunhead was in the room with him, no longer caring about being seen with them. They were already known by the villains. And Ace needed him. "Ace, it's not your fault."

"Yes it is. He was tired. He didn't want to do the stupid thing. I made him do it, and now he's gone," Ace said in a blank voice despite the cries he was still making. His power was under control now. He had asked that nobody visit him. He'd already shown a side of him he didn't want anyone to see, he didn't want to see their expressions of his meltdown. But he couldn't do anything else.

His other half was ripped away suddenly, and he was bleeding from that wound heavily. He wasn't complete with his brother, the only one who understood the pain he still carried from their childhood. Without him, Ace didn't know what would happen. Nothing good.

"We're doing everything we can to find him. I'll be there when he's found and I will save him and bring him back to you," Gunhead promised. Ace curled up tighter. He asked Gunhead to not make promises he can't keep. The pro-hero put his hand on Ace's head gently. "I won't fail either of you."

He said it with conviction, but Ace would not get his hopes up. He did believe Luffy would be saved, but he thought things would not be good when he was found. Why did they want him? Why Luffy? He bit his lip hard enough for it to bleed. He wanted to be alone, but he also worried about what would happen if he was. His powers might consume him again. Or he'd have a panic attack all by himself.

Ace couldn't be left alone, but he didn't want to be with anybody. It was a long night, and after eating an apple, he fell asleep, wishing to wake up and have this all be a nightmare. It had to be, they'd been through enough in life. This wasn't right, it wasn't fair. He was lost.

And when he woke up, Luffy was not with him, not laying under his blanket next to Ace's. They each had their own blanket and then a comforter that covered both of them. He didn't want to go home. So, he asked Gunhead to let him stay at a hotel. He agreed.

The next day, after he woke up to the nightmare that was real life, some of his friends came to see him. Ace looked away from them, ashamed. "Nobody looks down on you, Ace. We all know how important you are to each other," Uraraka said, getting straight to the point. He didn't say anything for a moment.

"Okay," he replied, not knowing what to say. Iida said that they pro-heroes and police were looking for them at that very moment. Ace responded with the same answer, and then asked how Midoriya was doing. "He needed surgery, his arm was badly broken." Ace nodded.

Ace asked them to leave, and laid back down. They said they'd check on him later, and left some flowers in the glass pitcher for him. It didn't make him feel any better. He was still guilty of failing Luffy. Gunhead had been going to get lunch when his friends came in.

He entered not long after they left and gave Ace some food. "You need to eat, Ace." He looked at the sandwich and then ate it, feeling like he'd be sick from it. But he ate. He couldn't starve while waiting for Luffy to be saved. He wasn't stupid, he wasn't going to go off on his own and try to find him.

The pro-heroes had to take care of this. He trusted them, just wished they'd go faster. The longer they waited, the more likely bad things would happen to both students. They were polar opposites, so they weren't taken for the same reason. Ace just couldn't figure out what they wanted with Luffy.

-x-

Luffy spit out the second molar that had been broken from his injured jaw. It had only been three hours and he was covered in blood and bruises. He was exhausted, but refused to sleep for however long he was there. He was trying so hard to put air shields around himself. He was spitting out the blood, and had not said a thing or showed an ounce of pain.

It angered the enemies, and they continued to try and break him, not kill him. Luffy would not break, imagining the broken look on Ace's face when he saw him again, if Luffy was not his cheery self. He'd been through emotional torture for years. Physical torture would not break him. He wouldn't let it.

Bakugo hadn't been told or said a thing. He just watched Luffy be beaten with a straight face, though it wasn't one of satisfaction. Even if he hated Luffy, he didn't like seeing this happen to him. Luffy was glad he wasn't so heartless.

An hour passed and finally he got a bad wound but one that wouldn't kill him for a while at least. A couple days maybe, or a couple hours if it got infected. A small stab wound that hurt, but he made no show.

Four hours passed, and he was given a break when the villains ate and fed Bakugo, ignoring Luffy. They shoved food into Bakugo's mouth, along with water before gagging him again. So, Bakugo definitely wasn't there for the same reason. Lufy was there because Shigaraki was immature and wanted revenge like this.

He kept himself awake every moment of the next day. The villains put him in a dark room, ignoring him. He felt forgotten, but even in the dark, he didn't sleep. His eyes stayed open, and he was stoic. All he thought about was being with Ace again. Happy and safe. Around their friends. Playing video games, watching movies. Living with Gunhead, like a little family.

Hopefully he'd be found soon. Hopefully he didn't need to do this for long. By the next day he assumed, he was still awake. Starving and thirsty, his hands burning from the pain they were already in and when they were broken. All of them were broken from the villains. He didn't know what they would do with him next, but he would not be broken and he would not die. He refused to.

He was taken back into the room and saw Bakugo had either fallen asleep or was knocked out. "Looks like you didn't sleep," Shigaraki said, seeing the bags under Luffy's eyes. Luffy stayed stoic. "It looks like you don't react to pain. How about this?" and he opened his hand, moving it towards Luffy's arm.

Oh god, he was going to lose that arm. Aizawa's arm had been dissolved by this. His eyes widened in horror as the hand got closer, slowly to make him feel more fear for longer. He watched, not daring to close his eyes before a gray and shiny substance appeared on his arm, blocking the power from working.

There were only three villains in the room. Shigaraki, the warp guy - Kurogiri, and Dabi, the fire starter. They all froze. He was hit in the face, but instead of the substance guarding him fading, it moved to cover his whole body, all covered in what looked like steel. "What the hell is this?" Shigaraki demanded as he grabbed Luffy's arm but it stayed in that metal-like state. Luffy didn't know, so he said nothing. He had to hold this state for however long he was here.

_Ace, don't worry about me. I'll be okay._

The second day passed and Luffy kept the mystery substance there, even though every hour he felt it slipping as he grew weak from hunger, dehydration and sleep deprivation. Bakugo stayed there, seeing Luffy covered in blood and the blackness. Shigrarkai was personally offended that his power didn't work on Luffy. He grabbed his hair and yanked it around, but it did nothing as each strand was the ultra thin substance of the rest of him.

Eventually, they turned to Bakugo and spoke to him, finally revealing what he was there for. They tried to sway him into joining them based on how grumpy he was at the sports festival. Luffy was expecting him to turn it down, even though he often acted like a villain. He was determined, even if he went about it the wrong way. He turned them down with attitude as an exhausted Luffy watched.

They didn't let him go when he denied them rudely, antagonizing them. They gagged him again, and were both left alone for a few minutes, not knowing what was going on outside of this room.

The next two hours were spent with the guy with fat lips attempting to break through Luffy's mystery defense by hitting him in the face and head with his big weapon. It jerked him to the side, but broke nothing. Hours he kept this up, exhausting his body and mind.

The world got blurry multiple times, but then he made himself think of how broken Ace would be without him. Bakugo slept while Luffy stayed awake the entire time. As he focused on staying awake and safe, his haki dimmed until he couldn't feel anything more than ten feet out. Couldn't feel people in this room even though they were right there.

Luffy's wound was getting infected and burned badly, but he made no show of the pain. He still hadn't made a word or expression, often making direct eye contact with his captors and torturers, not that they gave him any terrible wounds. Just blunt wounds, cuts, broken bones and an infection. Okay, a lot of things, but none fatal. As long as he stayed awake and alert, he'd survive.

On the third day, he was in the room in the dark, still awake and feeling insane, hallucinating from the lack of sleep and depleted energy. Finally, the blackness faded, and he took a few deep breaths but stayed awake, the moment he felt someone outside of the door he scrunched his eyes and covered himself in that mystery substance before anyone knew he had released it in the first place.

When he was brought back out, there were some things that the villains apparently wanted to try. Dabi, the burnt one who controlled fire, tried to burn Luffy alive. He scrunched his eyes closed, expecting to burn to death, not be covered in comfy flames like Ace's. But there was no pain. He heard the villains express confusion and shock, but Luffy was too busy hallucinating fireworks in the air.

He was still gagged. And the black skin continued to be there, strong and not going anywhere anytime soon, as long as he stayed awake. A drill was brought out and attempted to drill into his cheek. It didn't work. Luffy was so out of it.

He was hit in the face, but it didn't hurt and he barely noticed it. "He's hallucinating, he's been awake over four days," Kurogiri said as Luffy looked distantly at the air, eyes following things only he could see. Bakugo was watching him in shock.

Luffy was starved and dehydrated, suffering from sleep deprivation, yet he still made no move of pain and kept himself as safe as he could. This showed strength more than any sports event or fight against villains.

The prisoner was unresponsive to anything happening around him, more interested in the zoo animals that had suddenly appeared to give him comfort in this terrible time. Then he saw Ace there, riding a giraffe that somehow fit into the bar room. He was laughing, bragging about having fun.

Tears formed in his eyes and he smiled a small smile. He felt happy seeing Ace, even if he wasn't really there. _Don't worry, I'll be back, Ace._ He hoped his brother hadn't lost hope. Ace would see him again because Luffy wouldn't let himself die or be killed.

"Having a happy hallucination? About your precious brother? Who knows what happened to him after you left? Who said all the villains had retreated once you disappeared? He was useless, leaving you to be lost. When you die, he'll perish, too."

Suddenly, the room was filled with an angry and dangerous feeling. Luffy was very angry, and everyone could feel it. He was exhausted and injured, hungry and thirsty, but he had enough energy to be angry at someone trash talking his beloved brother and him killing himself because Luffy knew that was a possibility.

Bakugo looked surprised, but soon the anger fizzled away, and Luffy was back to hallucinating about Ace, still nice things. He was flip flopping from reality to fantasy over and over, ignoring his surroundings, tuning out the speaking of the villains. He ignored everything they did and said.

His metal stayed, but it was starting to burn a bit, but he swore he would not succumb or he would die. And he would not show any weakness. He may just be barely a 15 year old, but he wasn't weak. He'd never been allowed to be weak with the life he and Ace had led until they were twelve. He had to be tough, he knew Ace was being. Broken, but tough at the same time.

When the fourth day came, he was no longer seeing anything happening around him. The entire room was one big hallucination that continued to warp and change. He didn't really notice it was a hallucination. But he was also starting to really succumb to dehydration. He was starving, but he had been used to starving. He adapted back to that easily.

So, when people broke into the room shouting, what he saw were walking cats running around, pouncing on things when one came to him and he finally saw what was happening. "Dad…" Luffy mumbled, the metal gone.

"I got you, Luffy," Gunhead said.

"So t'rd…" Luffy slurred.

"You can sleep now," Gunhead said, getting out of the room of pro-heroes, villains and Bakugo. Gunhead brought Luffy to an ambulance with Ace waiting inside, bent over in fear. Gunhead got Luffy inside, and Ace started crying, but was moved out of the way for Luffy to be hooked up to machines and water, as he was severely and dangerously dehydrated.

"I told you I'd save him, Ace," Gunhead said softly. Ace leaned into his chest and sobbed. Luffy was home. That was all that mattered now.

-x-

"I'm not going with you," Ace said flatly when some of the class announced they were going to save Bakugo and Luffy. Those who asked were surprised with Ace's answer, considering they were going to go save Luffy. It had been four days, four long and torturous days for everyone, especially Ace and Midoriya. "I trust the heroes to save him. I don't trust us to save two prisoners on our own when we couldn't do shit against them when we weren't in a confined space."

The rest of the class agreed, and were trying to get the five of them to not leave. To not go and perhaps jeopardize the pro's work. And Ace trusted All Might and Gunhead. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to try and save Bakugo when Luffy is in danger. I wouldn't help you save him, I'd take Luffy and run."

The others nodded, not seeming to blame him or think this was wrong. He'd been an absolute mess for the last four days. Barely sleeping, having constant panic attacks, unable to eat and with no desire to leave his bed. He stayed in the hotel unless the class asked to talk to him. The hotel was near the hospital.

Those who wanted to leave seemed upset Ace didn't want to go with them. He was usually strong after all, but not when Luffy was gone. He had no desire to do anything, especially not fight against villains. Not when he was already broken inside. He didn't need to be beaten up when he was weak.

They tried to stop the kids, but they refused. They could do nothing to stop them, even if most disapproved. But they left. Ace started to walk back to the hotel, but got a call from Gunhead to go to the ambulance outside. He looked behind him and saw one waiting. " _We've found the villain's hub. We're going to get Luffy and Bakugo,"_ he said. Ace spirinted to the ambulance and waited in the back, hands clasped tightly, breathing quickly, afraid of what they'd find.

It didn't take long to stop a few streets over from where the pub was and they were waiting with the back doors open. After around ten minutes, he felt two presences run there, and Gunhead was holding an unconscious and bloody Luffy, who was laid on the gurney and hooked up to water immediately.

Ace sobbed into Gunhead's chest as the ambulance hurried to the hospital, sirens blaring. When they got to the hospital, Luffy on the gurney was taken out and wheeled inside immediately. Ace wasn't allowed to go in as they worked on his wounds, which Gunhead was told were bad.

It was over an hour before they were let in. Luffy was asleep in his own small room, one that Ace had been near in his own shared room when no one else was in there with him. He sat next to the bed, seeing all of the stitches and bandages all over him. And the casts on all of his fingers and the bridge of his nose. His bare feet also had some broken toes and he was missing two molars.

He'd definitely been tortured. The doctor said, "I am sure that he stayed awake the whole time based on the extent of his body's exhaustion." Ace was horrified, that he'd stayed awake the whole time he was gone, all four days. He hadn't slept a wink during torture. He was afraid of what he'd be like when he woke up.

Ace knew Luffy was strong, but being tortured can really break a person.

He slept for two and half days straight and needed water and nutrients while he was unconscious. The class visited, and saw what happened to him in horror. He was so hurt, broken physically.

Ace was the only one in there when he woke up. He made a mumble sound, and saw Ace. "Ace," he said quietly. Ace's head snapped up, and tears fell from his eyes. He put his head against Luffy's chest and cried. "You're real, right?"

"I'm very real," Ace said, trying not to sob. Luffy grinned a tired smile.

"I didn't break," he said, his voice showing he was still very tired. "C-could'n break an' hurt you." Ace touched his face.

"I'm proud of you. I was so scared, I've never been more scared in my life," Ace sobbed. Luffy smiled, and said he missed him. He said he was so tired and hadn't slept the whole time. Ace nodded, knowing the whole story. Bakugo had told all of them in shock and resignation. That Luffy hadn't flinched or shown one ounce of pain as he was beaten. That he somehow formed the armor around his body, stopping the quirks being used against him. That he only showed emotion when Ace was trash talked.

How he hallucinated at the end. Bakugo had had to watch the whole thing, and he admitted that it was hard to watch. A rare moment of not dislike towards the younger twin. "How's Bakugo?" Luffy wondered. Ace said he was fine and was retrieved, but All Might had finally lost his strength. Luffy was sad, but knew that was coming soon.

"Do you know what happened with the black armor that Bakugo said covered you?" Luffy looked at his hand and remembered the feeling he'd gotten, and his hands were coated in black, even though it wasn't still like metal. More like a hard, solid glove. Ace touched it and said it was strange.

Then his hand reacted to it, even when he hadn't touched it, when he'd taken his hand from it. "Maybe this is more haki," Ace said. Luffy said he didn't know, but it had saved him from being burnt or crumbled. And also he wasn't hurt anymore after covering himself. They couldn't wound him anymore.

Luffy fell back asleep after about fifteen minutes of being awake. The whole class was in trouble from Aizawa for not telling anyone that the five had left and gone off on their own to do a dangerous stunt. Ace had been the only one formally invited that turned them down. Tsu was very upset about it. The older twin had tried to comfort her, but his tone was dry.

He had apologized for his classmates for being harsh and unfriendly. Uraraka had hugged him, saying it was understandable. He had started crying again right there into her shoulder. Many of the students put hands on his back to try and calm him. He hadn't erupted again like at camp with his fire.

After that, he went back to the hotel to wait before he was called by Gunhead. He was glad he was there when Luffy was picked up. After Luffy had fallen asleep again, Ace went outside the door to see some of the class there, and told them he'd woken up and what had happened from his point of view.

Ace didn't share that he was able to use the black armor now as well. Those who were there were so glad and relieved. The next time he woke three hours later, some of them came inside and said they were glad he was back. He was still a mass of bandages and bruises, but he was smiling at them.

"I'm sorry I worried you," he said, his voice scratchy until Ace gave him some water. Recovery Girl had done her best on his bigger wounds, but there were so many that it would take longer for it to heal him everywhere. He would heal faster, but not fast enough in Ace's opinion.

They smiled at him and said they weren't mad and just so happy he and Bakugo were okay. "Where is he?"

"He went home. He didn't have any injuries," Tsu explained. "Now everyone is back," she added with a smile. The others nodded, all happy. Luffy asked for more water and then fell back asleep. The teachers went to visit him, but he was asleep. They felt and _were_ responsible for what had happened to their student.

They failed to protect them and it resulted in Luffy being tortured. Nobody was happy when it leaked in the media and the story of two students being kidnapped was made to light, though nobody had reported who had been tortured, which Luffy and Ace were glad of.

On the day before Luffy was discharged over a week later, Gunhead was with them in the hospital, and said, "How would you two like to finally be formally adopted?" They were both shocked before Ace hesitantly asked if he was sure, tears of happiness already going down his cheeks.

"I am sure," he said firmly. Luffy and Ace nodded, and started crying, their soon to be father hugging both of them. It was a wonderful gift for Luffy's discharge.


	16. Dorm Life

**Anime_Moon00: Aw, thank you! I'm glad my stories differ or it would be boring to have the same things. Some of the crossovers are similar, but all different in their own ways! Well, I have a lot of baby Luffy stories, but everyone seems to enjoy those ones a lot. Baby Luffy will always bring people together lol.**

**Acelu for the win: I made it so wholesome. And Bakugo gets some light redemption after everything that happened.**

* * *

When they went home, Ace and Luffy collapsed onto their bed and fell asleep, feeling that the nightmare was over. They'd developed new haki, which sort of was like armor, so they named it armament haki, and named the other one observation haki, since that really made sense.

Gunhead got to the adoption process immediately, which wasn't hard since their parents abandoned them and abused them. Even if they wanted to fight it, they'd never get custody of them again. They'd actually probably go to jail.

The twins took a break from training their bodies until Luffy felt 100% back to normal. He said he felt maybe 80%. They could wait, it was no big deal. So, they trained their quirks inside and without much force. Ace was able to keep himself as fire for two hours and Luffy was able to have air armor on his arms and legs, but nowhere else. But they had to think if that was necessary with the armament haki.

And Luffy held it for three days, meaning he had a long time before it fizzled out. No pro-heroes had asked them about Luffy when they saved him, as he was still in that form. For someone who was tortured, starved and kidnapped, he bounced back well besides some nightmares.

They always woke him up whimpering, but never screaming. After all, Bakugo said he had never made a show of pain or fear. And he had been scared about how Ace would react if he broke or died. That's what really kept him going the most. Thinking about his beloved brother.

So they were surprised later that day when All Might and Aizawa arrived. Gunhead was there, taking a break off since everyone knew he had taken these kids in and one had only just been out of the hospital from being tortured. Gunhead let them in, and the boys sat on the couch with Gunhead on the recliner. Since they came, some new furniture was bought, but not much.

The first thing they asked was how Luffy was doing. "Okay. I feel mostly better but am sore in some places still. And I have some nightmares, but that's it." All Might said his recovery was incredibly fast. Luffy nodded, having been told that many times by now.

They were surprised when the two teachers announced that they'd like to have the students stay at dorms on campus for safety reasons. The villains had a grudge about the students, it seemed, and keeping them mostly on campus sounded the safest. The twins didn't like this idea, wanting to stay with Gunhead and especially now that he was adopting them. It wouldn't be fair to be taken away.

But the pro-hero and father said, "I don't like it and I wish it didn't need to be, but I think it's a good idea." Ace wanted to point out that it is their fault in the first place, but he didn't need to. "I cannot help but resent the school a bit for losing Luffy like it did, but I know you would have never done that on purpose.

"I don't want them to leave, but with Luffy's situation with them, I want them to be safe. I have work which leaves them alone here often, and I wouldn't feel comfortable with that." Both of them knew it was a good point, but they still didn't want to leave. Their heads drooped, sad with the situation.

"We will share a room," Luffy said firmly. The two teachers said that was absolutely fine. They both requested a bunk bed with a larger mattress on the bottom. People would think it was weird that they slept on the same bed. But it made them feel safe, still with the mindset that sleeping was dangerous so they had to do it close together.

Just another lingering scar from their childhood which still haunted them. "We thank you for cooperation and are again extremely sorry for what happened under our watch," Aizawa finished with a deep bow that All Might mimicked as well.

A week later, the students gathered at their new living quarters, Heights Alliance, which was built in three days. Hopefully it was sturdy. Ace and Luffy didn't hesitate to hold hands since the class knew that it was appropriate given that Luffy had recently been kidnapped and tortured. The two were back to being cheery, though Ace was more clingy now, just a bit.

Bakugo hadn't said a word to Ace or Luffy at all since the dual kidnapping. It might be because he'd seen Luffy wasn't as indestructible as he thought, wasn't strong enough to get away and so dealt with it and might respect him for that.

Or it could be that deep down Bakugo was glad someone else was there with him in an unknown place full of villains, even if Luffy was being tortured in front of him. Neither of them thought that they would be friends with the hot head, but the arguing and nasty looks were gone and that was nice.

Midoriya also was clingy, but not as much as Ace. Which was to be expected. Luffy talked with his friend a lot after what had happened, mostly over text once his fingers were feeling better. It had scared him, losing both one of his closest friends and a childhood friend who had a love/hate relationship. At least to Midoriya. Bakugo didn't share those feelings, but the twins had long since stopped trying to convince Midoriya that Bakugo wasn't good for him.

And seeing Ace broken like that might have been another shock and been hard as well. Overall, Ace would say he and Midoriya went through the worst after the kidnapping than anyone else.

Aizawa met them outside and told them he was glad the class was all back together. He also said that they would be focused on getting the provisional licenses they were planning on getting at the training camp.

Most of the students had forgotten all about that after everything that had happened, Ace and Luffy included. Then Aizawa said that the next part would be important, and named all five of the students who went off to save Bakugo on their own that night. "Your reaction to this shows that you all knew about that night. I'm going to set aside a number of issues and say this: if it weren't for all Might's retirement, I would have expelled everyone besides Luffy, Bakugo, Jiro and Hagakure.

"Of coure the five who went, but also the twelve who knew and didn't stop them betrayed our trust no matter the reason. I would be grateful if you could follow the proper procedures and act properly in order to regain that trust. That is all," and the teacher turned around and told them they were going inside.

Ace and Luffy went forward while the others joked around. It was weird for both of them to go weeks without being in a big crowd. Now they have to live with everyone. They didn't like this, they liked the quiet and privacy at home. They didn't expect Aizawa to take them and Baukgo aside when they went in while the others were still outside joking.

"The two of you will be under more supervision for now. And truly, on behalf of myself and the school, I apologize for letting you three go through that. We will try to move on, but there are counselors on site if you need them. That is all," he said and went back to everyone else.

Luffy finally approached Bakugo. "I just want to say that I didn't want you to have to be there, but I was able to get through the beginning knowing somebody else was there with me, and I wasn't all alone. I don't expect to be friends, but I wanted to at least tell you that," he said and walked off to the other group after he heard: "I felt the same," and then they didn't speak of that again.

When Ace and Luffy saw the extent of the place, they frowned. It was too big. Not cozy at all. They sighed and tried to be positive about it, even if they'd much rather be with Gunhead. There were huge windows and the ceiling was very tall. There was a TV on the wall and a kitchen, too.

"The bedrooms start on the second floor, four bedrooms per floor by gender, five floors in total. Everyone gets their own room besides Ace and Luffy. They're luxurious spaces equipped with their own ACs, toilets, refrigerators and closets." There were even balconies.

The rooms were huge compared to their old room which had barely any space for the big bed and the dresser. It was nice, and they were glad it felt more cozy. They were to unpack since everything had already been brought to the rooms for them. It was nice that their room was next to Midoriya's and on the end of the fifth floor. So they shared one wall and didn't have to have any footsteps above them, which was nice.

Their room had nice wooden bunk beds with a twin on top and a queen on bottom. They wondered if the teachers knew they slept on the same bed or assumed so by having a queen instead of the usual full. It wouldn't surprise them, especially since everyone knew Ace's reaction to Luffy's kidnapping and the fact that Luffy had been tortured.

He still had some residue of his time there, but not really anywhere anyone could see. A couple scars that would take awhile to heal, but most of the damage was gone. They put the dark blue sheets on the bed and fluffed up the pillows on the top and bottom so it looked like both would be used.

The dresser they had brought had the TV on it with their game station in the drawer below. All of their clothes went in the closet. They had a bookshelf full of all sorts of books from fiction to math and science and fighting. They had a mat that they could practice on that doubled as a carpet. Now they had a huge yard to practice in! They also had a punching bag in the very corner to not take much room.

There were no posters on the wall but two framed photos of Luffy and Ace's first day with Gunhead and their most recent. The first they were dirty and huddled together, looking scared and very skinny and pale. The second was tan and fully fed teens with bright smiles, completely clean. The difference was staggering and they liked seeing them.

They did have a stuffed animal Gunhead had bought them when they were new, which was a bear in a karate outfit. It was funny, so they brought it with them. The room was a bit cozy at the end, and they liked the extra space. It was weird, but nice. They would still miss their home, though. But, Gunhead said that they could skype on the new laptops they bought since they couldn't use the other one at home now.

Once they were done unpacking, they went to the common area where the boys were all sitting after finishing unpacking their rooms. "Hey, Luffy, how you doing?" Krishima asked nicely.

"Oh, no. Please don't baby me, I'm perfectly fine. I am almost completely healed and only have some nightmares. Promise, I'm fine," he said firmly. "Besides, babying me will just make me think about it more and we don't want that." The others nodded, and Ace smiled.

The others were talking about how cool it would be for all of them to live together. Ace said, "And we can all spar out in the yard since there is so much space." The others looked at them warily. "What?"

Kaminari said, "You two are monsters. We don't want to be beaten until we're bloody like at the sports festival." Ace laughed at that and said they wouldn't go so hard on other people unless they gave permission. The guys shook their heads besides Kirishima, who was down for doing that. Ace said they weren't allowed to use their quirks.

The girls came over and announced that they wanted to do a competition to see who had the best room. They started with Midoriya's and would then go to the side to see Ace and Luffy's. They didn't even think about the photos they'd put up side by side. Of course Midoriya's was completely decked out in All Might posters and merchandise.

They moved to Ace and Luffy's room and saw it was kind of plain but also cozy. They saw the big TV and game station below it and said they were lucky. Some had their own but they shared it with their family so they couldn't take it.

"You have such boring books," Kaminari pointed out. Iida said it was honorable to have text books like those. And it wasn't surprising that he had tons of books as well.

Uraraka looked at the two photos on the wall and her face fell, gaining attention from everyone else. "What's wrong?" Ashido asked. Uraraka smiled and said it was nothing before putting the photos face down on the dresser beneath it. Ace and Luffy's faces went red, but nobody pushed and they moved to the next room.

Luffy touched her shoulder. "Thank you." She nodded and grinned.

"I can see why you're so happy now, compared to then. It's a wonderful change," she said simply and they went to the next room. Their rooms were all so different and many of them completely over the top, though they showed what they were into. Ace and Luffy didn't have many fandoms or things like that, always trying to be minimalists.

When they got to the last one, Sato's room, they smelled something good, and he said he'd baked a chiffon cake. Ace and Luffy weren't hesitant to join the girls in eating it, enjoying it with them, all of their faces pink with the delicious cakes.

"Hey! If we train you, Sato, will you bake us stuff as compensation?" Ace asked brightly.

"Hey, that's not fair!" Hagakure said. Ace and Luffy grinned. He said it was free training, the least they could get was something sweet. Even if it was barely anything.

"At home we barely had any sweets. Besides, we burn off the calories quickly. We won't get fat," Ace explained. Sato hadn't even answered and they were already arguing. He just watched them with a weird expression on. "And my quirk burns off calories so it's impossible for me to get fat."

The girls expressed jealousy at that, then looked at Luffy. "I exercise," he said simply. They huffed and then walked out. The chiffon cake was eaten just by the girls and twins. Sato had still said nothing and everyone seemed to forget about it for now.

When they started looking at the girls' rooms, Jiro's was first. It was decked full of instruments of all types. Luffy said, "I'm glad our room isn't anywhere near yours." The other guys agreed with nods. Jiro sighed, but said nothing. Next was Hagakure's room. It was so pink and girly that Ace and Luffy weren't sure how to react to it. It really was hard on the eyes. They honestly didn't understand why they guys were feeling weird about seeing the girls' rooms. So Luffy asked. "Why is it so weird to see the girls' rooms? They saw the boys."

The girls all said, "So innocent." Ace started laughing at it.

"What?!" Luffy asked defensively. The guys asked what kind of upbringing they had. Luffy said they weren't around girls much at all. It wasn't weird to them. Mineta said, "Why are you so perfect! Why do girls like you!? Like when we saw class B, they were all talking to you and smiling! That's not fair, stop it!"

Jiro commented, "Maybe if you weren't such a pervert, girls would be fond of you, too. Like we said before, you can be friends with guys and not _like_ like them." The other girls nodded. "Besides, as people, they're nice to be around," she added simply. "Just like some of you, but not all of you."

Ace was looking amused at everything and pat Luffy on the head. It was getting late, so after the rooms were all seen, and Sato's won because of his food, they went to the kitchen to see what there was. The others weren't good at cooking, so Ace and Luffy proudly said to leave it all to them.

Then they got out ingredients for spicy curry and steamed rice with special sauce they learned to make, making a huge enough serving for everyone to take a plate of. "Oh! This is so good!" Kirishima shouted and the girls agreed loudly.

Luffy was cleaning up and then ate his and said, "Gunhead wasn't always home, so we cooked dinner. The first couple of times the pan caught on fire, but it's all good now." They all enjoyed the food before putting the dishes in the dishwasher and the left overs in the fridge before they all went to bed. It was nice there was an elevator and not stairs, that would suck.

Ace and Luffy went to bed on the bottom bunk, of course, under their blankets with Luffy facing the wall and Ace facing the room. Ace woke up while Luffy started whimpering in his sleep and gently shook him awake. "Lu, wake up. You're fine, you're not there anymore. You're with me, super safe at school. You'll never go there again." Luffy was crying still, but nodded. The thing that often got Luffy to bed after a nightmare was food. There was left over curry they could eat, so they went to the first floor and got some curry from the fridge before going to the couches to eat it, Luffy doing more of the eating. "Wanna talk about it?"

Ace didn't like hearing it, but it was necessary for Luffy. "When I got stabbed in the side. I dreamt the infection spread to my whole body and I was green and sick and oozing from everywhere. Then they took advantage of that and hit me over and over where it hurt. Then you woke me up," he said in a flat voice.

The freckled twin hugged his brother and Luffy finished the curry before they both ended up falling asleep on the couches, to be discovered by the rest in the morning. "Yo, when'd you come out here?" Kirishima asked, startling both of them awake. "Get a late night snack?" he asked, seeing the empty curry dish.

They both nodded and yawned. "The couches aren't that bad to sleep on," Ace commented. Luffy brought the dish back into the kitchen and washed it in the sink since all of those in the dishwasher were clean after running it during the night.

The two went upstairs to their room to change and take turners showering. It was a shower. Not a bath, which didn't matter to them. They even had towels in the cupboards and toiletry products in the drawers and under the sink.

Once they were both dry from Ace's flames, they went downstairs to get food for breakfast. Nobody knew about Luffy getting up from the night before. Ace said, "Just a warning, you might find us on the couch sometimes."

Nobody asked why, but a few did glace in both of their directions, mostly Luffy, but they all nodded.

Ace and Luffy made breakfast again, enjoying cooking even if they couldn't do it for Gunhead. They liked people enjoying their food. They made bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and there were already english muffins in the cupboards. They served all of them and ate at the tables together. Ojiro asked why they were making the food. They didn't need to if they didn't want to. Ace replied that, since they couldn't cook for Gunhead, they wanted to cook for at least someone. And it was nice to have everyone happy after meals.

"Plus, we know what's a healthy serving size. That's why we're using the small plates. Then if you go and get seconds, it's pretty much the same size as a larger serving," Luffy explained. Their classmates thanked them, and asked for them to teach everyone how to cook since it wouldn't be fair if they did all the cooking.

Luffy said it sounded fun and both of them would be glad to.

Everyone had a good breakfast that was a great start to the day so they were all positive once class started. Aizawa told them class A hero course would be focusing on getting provisional licenses. He then laid it on thick by saying the licenses bears with it a great responsibility of human life. "Of course the exam to receive them will be very difficult." Only 50% pass it each year. That day they'd be working on making at least two ultimate moves.

Three more teachers came in and basically said everything would be easier if they had ultimate moves, and then were told to go get dressed in their costumes and head to one of the gyms. Ace and Luffy looked at each other and nodded, both knowing one thing they'd be working on. The new haki.

When they got to the gym, Aizawa pulled both of them aside and ordered them to not use moves that will kill everyone and everything around. Not everyone was an All Might. They both nodded. It had been an accident, that complete super move that decimated the whole area and burnt All Might during that "test" they took with fighting against them.

Once the speech about what it takes to be a hero was over, the students dispersed in the gym with cement staggered stages, and Ace and Luffy went to a corner to work on each other. Ace was working on using the armament haki and Luffy was trying to strengthen his air shields.

Each time Ace punched, they shattered. Luffy was growing frustrated when he made the shield thicker but they still were shattered and he was pushed back. Nobody was really paying attention to them since they were quiet compared to everybody else. When he had been at the training camp, he'd been working on hardening his skin, but now that he had that haki, he didn't need that, so he was trying to make his shields stronger.

After fifteen minutes of them breaking, Luffy got irritated and automatically the haki covered the shield. He could feel it but not see it. And the shield didn't break, and made Ace bounce backwards. "I- I did it! Try again!" Luffy said and jumped up onto a step and pushed haki out of his feet, the feeling of warmth leaving him. Ace nodded and punched upwards as hard as he could, but nothing happened.

Luffy danced around on his step before he dropped down. Ace was happy for him and gave him a high five. "How'd you do it all the sudden?" Luffy quietly said, "I felt haki leave me and coat the shields in it. It was invisible, but it felt warm, coming off of me. I'm happy! Your turn!"

Ace said he wanted to use the haki and make his hands so hot that they melted anything he punched. Luffy grinned and the two went to the nearest rock wall, still out of view from most people. Ace took his gloves off, both of theirs modified so they weren't fingerless any more, and made his hands full of fire before he turned his arms into the armament haki. It took a little finetuning before the fire was gone and his hands were super heated, like metal, glowing red with overwhelming heat.

He punched through the rock, leaving a scorching hole inside. He punched again and had no resistance, melting the rock with just his fist easily. Then he tried with his finger, immaturely burning a swear word into the surface. Well, there was no one in that area anyways.

Then he used both palms and melted the rock, which now had hand shaped holes in it, the rock vaporized. Luffy started throwing rocks at him and Ace blasted heat at each one, leaving nothing behind.

After Ace deemed the fire-haki hands a super move, as he could injure only those he touched, Luffy worked on his again. He could harden the shields to protect him, but could he use them as offense as well?

He made small shields on his hands and let the haki flow like water over them and punched a hand into the rock, making the shield go right through it in circular shapes. "Ace, it makes everything so much easier!" Luffy cheered. They gave high fives and then worked on them some more. Luffy's super move was hardening the shields for both offense and defense. Ace was being able to control the heat so it only reached his fists, going along with his martial arts training.

Then Luffy tried using the shields on other places as weapons. He put them in front of his shins, hoping he wouldn't cut them again, and let out the invisible haki. He slammed his leg into the wall, leaving a rectangle indent, as the shield had been rectangular. "Woohoo!"

Midoriya looked down at them and he looked up. "You guys are doing so well, I can't think of anything," he said sadly. Ace asked if he wasn't allowed to use his arms anymore after the surgery, and he nodded.

"You have other body parts, don't you?" Ace wondered. Midoriya's face lit up and Ace grinned. "Go kick ass!" he said, and Midoriya jumped up and went to practice his own moves. Luffy grinned and soon they turned their fighting against one another. Luffy slammed Ace with the shields, which he took the impact slightly. Not enough to hurt him, but enough to jar him.

Ace used his fists and found that they felt lighter for some reason, and punching rapidly wasn't hard at all. He didn't break Luffy's shields, but they did catch his face. "Are you-?!" Ace asked frantically until Luffy grinned.

"Looks like I can let it out anywhere, not just my arms and legs. Gonna have to do better than that to break my air armor, big brother," Luffy taunted. He was training his haki to predict where Ace would punch and creating a shield in that place before he hit it. No hits got him at all, even without using armament haki. That sort of felt like a cheat, so he'd rather use this.

Plus, it went over his clothes and skin, keeping all of him protected. Midnight was watching them and commented on their rapid progress. "That's quite impressive, boys. How long have you been working on this?"

"Luffy tried punching rocks at training camp, but it didn't work out. It does now, we started earlier today," Ace said, both of them sweating just a bit. It was hot inside for Luffy, they wanted a break. "Can we go get a water break?"

Midnight approved and both of them left to get a drink of water from the fountain right outside. They splashed their faces, too. "I wish we could go home and tell Gunhead," Luffy said sadly. "We won't be able to show him our progress." Ace's face fell as well, their happiness dampened.

"Maybe we can have someone film us and send it to him. It's the only thing we can do, Lu," Ace said. Luffy nodded, saying he knew that but it didn't mean he was happy with it. They went back in a little more subdued than before.

Ace sent a punch a little too hard and it cracked the whole cement thing in half. It was able to fall on both of them before Ace let out concentrated flames that vaporized the rock into nothing. "I didn't even get to use my shield, jerk," Luffy grumbled.

They went to cementos and asked if they could have another block, which he made and they continued to work.

All Might appeared when the twins were sparring, going very hard with both of them using offense. Ace's hits didn't even reach Luffy's skin as the air armor was there. It had been fifteen minutes and the haki was still available. He hadn't run out, even if it did feel like water leaving his body.

The air beams were already mastered for him, so he didn't work on those. Same with Ace. Now they were training for close combat. Both of them were going hard and sweating heavily. Luffy missed and punched and accidentally punched a circular hole in the wall before dodging when Ace had fist of superheated haki, which left a burnt hole in the rock. He ducked and they began fighting again.

Once they were both gasping for air, they took a break and sat against the wall, wiping their sweat. They'd taken their helmets off long ago, but at least their suits were breathable and didn't make them too hot.

"These two seem like prodigies. As does Bakugo," Midnight said. "They all learn incredibly fast and have great grades."

Aizwawa said, "Ace and Luffy always go the extra mile, end up the stars of the show, and get everybody to like them. They will make good heroes. Bakugo doesn't like them, but after the unfortunate incident, they seem to be getting along better. Trauma builds relationships. I doubt they'll ever be friends, but I think they respect one another more, now." Ace and Luffy were sure the teachers didn't know they could hear them, and pretended like they couldn't, and were just catching their breaths.

They both were proud, though. "When Luffy was kidnapped at camp, Ace fell apart. I'm a seasoned hero and like to keep my emotions in check," Aizawa said. "But I can't say it wasn't hard to watch. They really can't be apart. It's a strength but also a weakness in a way. But, Luffy was able to come out of that hell with a smile. I heard that Luffy only lasted so long because he was afraid of what Ace would do without him."

Midnight sounded like she was making dramatic sniffles. "The youth of this age!" she shouted emotionally. Ace and Luffy snickered, though they wondered who had told the teacher about Luffy's mindset while being tortured.

"We're pretty cool, huh, Lu?" Ace asked and they both grinned and bumped fists. "Let's get back to work." And they continued.

After another break, they both wondered what kind of upgrades they could make for their costumes. They already had strong boots, metal knee guards and elbow guards, so those were strong places. They both asked All Might, the nearest teacher, what he thought. "We don't really know what would improve our fighting at this point. Do you have any advice?" Ace asked.

"Hmm, I would say-"

"A lighter on my gloves! I could scrape them against each other and then I could make my own fire bombs!" Luffy exclaimed. Ace said that would be awesome, and they ran off to the hero supplement shop. All Might was left behind, not having been able to finish his sentence. Midnight was laughing about it.

When they arrived at the workshop, there was already a line of students talking to Hatsume, one of the students at the sports festival and the one to use poor Iida as a commercial in their match against one another.

They waited patiently and when it was finally their turn, Luffy asked for his upgrade. "Is there a way I can somehow create fire on my gloves on my own? I can make air bombs that encapsulate the fire and make them more explosive."

Hatusme seemed to have an idea immediately. "Well, having two spark places could create momentary fire that would last a few seconds so you'd need to act fast. And have a way that it wouldn't be able to happen accidentally and wouldn't run out quickly or mess up your gloves," she said excitedly. "I'm sure I can make a baby that will help with that!" Ace didn't have anything he thought would help him. Oh well.

Luffy still had his pockets on his belt that held spikes and nails, with two more open pockets he didn't know how to use. Ace's pockets were empty, him not knowing either.

A day later, Luffy's gloves were enhanced. In between the first and middle finger in one glove and the middle and third finger in the other hand had strikers, so if he stirked them together, he could make quick and easy fire that he could turn into a bomb easily.

Since they were normal fire, they were not as destructive as using Ace's flames. But they would work if he was alone. Now, they could fight on their own with the quirks but also use super moves together.

They also had small design changes for their costumes. They sweat in their headsets and that was a distraction, so they just went with black masks a bit like Bakugo that blended into their hair and covered Ace's freckles and Luffy's scar. Those were defining factors, so they were kept out of sight.

**Sadly, they finally were to get adopted, and had to be taken away. Poor babies. :( Don't be mad lol.**


	17. Provisional License Exam Part 1

**Anime_Moon00: I love getting comments and appreciate yours so much! They're always so descriptive and I love it. Some of my old stories aren't the best, lol, but I'm glad people still enjoy them!**

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The second day was spent with Luffy and Ace finding the right amount of flames and size of the air bomb to make perfect explosions, out on the field and away from the building. Ace sucked the flames away, so by the end they knew just the right amount and size for three stages. Shock, burn, and kill. A shock released the fire with a bang but not much fire. Burn created large explosions that would burn anyone near and kill completely eradicate the area. Soon, much of the grass was charred dirt. Midnight supervised them while doing this, but once Ace showed he could get rid of the fire, they were left to their own.

They also worked on swirling fire around their bodies as a shield, and asked Midnight to throw things at them to see if it worked. They were commanded to never use that nuclear bomb on campus. Not after what it did to one of the grounds. They had individual supermoves and one together, the shield that only they'd be able to use as it sent heat out and didn't burn Luffy. Never burn Luffy.

The four days passed quickly, and when they were inside on the fourth day, taking a break, a rock almost fell on All Might and they were too far to get it, but Midoriya came and kicked it into pieces.

"Hell yeah! We knew you could do it!" Ace shouted, Luffy "Woohoo!"ing for him. Midoriya grinned brightly and sent them a thumbs up.

"You're a badass, now, too!'" Luffy said excitedly. He and Ace both gave him high fives. "You better take care of your body from now on, got it?" Midoriya nodded, promising he would. Then Kaminari and Krishima came over, showing off their new outfits. "Wow your guys' outfits changed a lot!" Luffy said.

"Your guys' didn't really, huh?" Kaminari asked. Ace pointed out their masks had changed and Luffy could make fire with his gloves. Luffy showed them and then encapsulated it in an air bomb. He could make those on his own now. "Wow, that's super out of the way, nobody would know it's there."

Luffy nodded and said, "I also can't light it on accident easily. Hatsumei is awesome." The other three nodded, all liking their upgrades a lot. They asked why the two got rid of their helmets. "They were sweaty inside and it interfered with seeing and hearing," Luffy said honestly.

Then class 1-B came and demanded they leave. Aizawa got in a tiff with Vlad, the class 1-B teacher. Monoma, they thought his name was, copped an attitude with them, and when he saw Ace and Luffy, he stopped, still seeming affected from the last time the twins gave him a well said scolding.

"How are you guys?" Luffy asked cheerily.

The girls said they were good, but a bit nervous for the test. "Me, too. There's a 50% fail rate, so we have to all do our best. It would be awesome if all of us got accepted and then we'd be nicer to each other. Hopefully. We'd be the best school and outshine all of the others!" he said with conviction.

Aizawa looked unsurprised with Vlad shocked. Everybody from class 1-B had seen Ace's meltdown, but nobody in either class had said a word about it. One girl did ask how Luffy was doing.

"I'm all better, now. Nobody has to worry. No more injuries, they're all gone. And I got a little stronger from it, so that's nice!" he laughed lightheartedly, talking about being tortured like it was no big deal. Ace grinned and shook his head. So did the others around him.

Aizawa told them all that they were the only first years fighting this year, meaning they were up against students who had been practicing longer. "With quirks you don't know about, they've polished up. The contents of the actual exam are unclear, but what is clear is that you'll all have a hard time. It's not good to get hung up on it, but keep that in mind."

Luffy didn't like the tense atmosphere and said, "We've all been up against villains whose power we didn't know. We're ready for anything," with conviction. The other students affirmed this, said they'd give it their all and would all pass, no matter what challenges they faced.

Jiro asked, "How do you do that?"

"What?"

"Make everyone get along and be encouraged!"

Luffy shrugged. "Who cares, it works!" Aizawa and Vlad were looking at Luffy once the other students were all more pumped up. When they switched, and walked past one another, Luffy loudly told everyone to try their hardest and they'd make their school proud, showing "villain attacks don't bring us all down!"

The others loudly agreed, and wished each other luck. "Have a nice practice!" Luffy called one last time and turned around. Ashido said, "You're such an angel, Luffy." Luffy chuckled at that but didn't reply. Aizawa did say something.

"Luffy, don't lose that attitude. You'll make a superb hero if you can keep bringing people together like that," he said in a flat voice.

"Yes, sir! I won't let anything change that. Not even torture," he reponded brightly. Ace smiled proudly, loving his brother so much. He was a bright light that just kept on shining, never to be put out.

Later that night when they were all back at the dorms, Todoroki was helping with the dinner with Ace and Luffy supervising. Momo was cutting up the food to be cooked and Jiro was working with the sauce. Their favorite food had been the one from the first night.

The others were complaining about how tired they were, but Ace and Luffy were pumped and excited. If they didn't pass this time, they had next year. They would pass, but they had a safety net.

After a moment of silence, Jiro asked a question that seemed to be something everyone was thinking. "Luffy… what was it like? When you know, it happened? You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

Luffy replied, "No, it's fine. It was worse at first, cause Shigaraki was mad that I ruined his dream, and embarrassed him back at USJ. He wanted to break me so I wouldn't have a dream either. There were burns and stabs and cuts at first, broke my fingers and toes, but when they tried to use their quirks on me, my body got coated in this weird metal thing and their quirks wouldn't work on me. That got them angry.

"I didn't let myself sleep cause I knew I'd die if I did. It was terrible, being awake for four days. And hungry and thirsty. I had to keep the stuff up so they couldn't hurt me again. On the fourth day I started to hallucinate, but it was better than what was actually happening. I saw a zoo with Ace there, too.

"I knew I'd be saved, so I knew I just had to keep waiting and stay alive as long as I could."

They were all quiet before Ashido asked, "How are you cheery about it? What made you not break under all that stress?" Luffy looked up at the ceiling.

"Well, I was afraid of what Ace would do if I did die, or if I did come back broken and damaged. I didn't want him to be upset and scared. I mean, I wanted to live too, of course, but I was mostly thinking about Ace. And how bad he had to feel about me getting taken. I wanted to wait as long as I could so I could make him smile again. And if he didn't smile anymore, I would never be happy either.

"So I didn't let them break me," he finished strongly. The room was silent, and some of the girls were sniffling. Kirishima was crying, how Luffy was a true man. Luffy just laughed about it. "I'm not upset about it anymore, so you don't have to beat around the bush. I mean, I do have nightmares sometimes. That's when we're on the couch, after I've had a nightmare."

Ace sighed, and wiped his eyes. "I wish I had been as strong as you. The moment you were gone I had a complete meltdown in front of everyone. They all felt bad for me, even Aizawa was nice. It was hard. But you're back and I try not to think about it much. I'm not you, Lu. Never change." Luffy hugged him, and then everyone went back to talking about lighter things, though there was an air of sadness.

Dinner distracted that, and they all talked about their ultimate moves excitedly. It was a nice night, and Ace and Luffy felt they'd all grown a little bit closer because of Luffy and his attitude and experience. Like another family. A big one, but still. It was nice

-x-

A week later, and they were all standing in front of the building that the exam would take place in. They were all nervous. Luffy said, "Even if one of us fails, we have two more chances. You're not going to not be a hero if you fail this time. Being nervous isn't going to get you anywhere."

"If you can pass this test, you'll get your provisional licenses. Then your novice eggs will become chicks… You'll hatch into semi-pros. Do your best."

Kirishima and Kaminari were getting pumped up before a guy from another school showed up, grinning like Luffy was. He was very excited and barged into their conversation, and then apologized and hit his head on the ground. "What's with this guy trying to get by on his enthusiasm?"

"That's what Luffy does," Tsu pointed out.

"Hey, that uniform is from that rich and powerful school in the west! I heard really talented people come from there," Luffy said cheerily, in a great mood and looking forward to more games and competitions. The excited guy stood back up.

"Hey, you're the happy guy from the U.A. sports festival!" the other enthusiastic guy said. "I loved your speech! I brought everyone together, it was beautiful!" the excited guy exclaimed. Luffy laughed and said the sports festival had been fun.

He said, "I hope today will be fun, too. But we're against you, so you're an enemy! I can tell you're strong, too. We won't let our guard down," Luffy finished sternly.

"Right back at you, happy guy!" he said and ran back, full of enthusiasm. The others sighed, and said they were glad Luffy's enthusiasm wasn't that exhausting. Aizawa said the guy's name, and then that he was strong. Well, Ace and Luffy already knew how strong he was. He might be a challenge. Aizawa told them about him, and the brothers weren't really paying attention, trying to see how many powerful students they were up against. But apparently the guy was stronger than Todoroki. Though Ace and Luffy had been stronger than him. It would test their strength to go up against him.

Luffy whispered, "He looks fun, let's avoid him."

"Roger," Ace said with a grin, getting pumped up along with Luffy, grinning and excited to know what would happen next. They barely caught the guy's name. Yoarashi Inasa.

Then someone called Aizawa's name, looking like a bright person, laughing. Luffy and Ace liked her already, she was making Aizawa irritated just by laughing. And she did ask him to marry her, so that irritated him as well.

Midoriya had his hero-nerdiness come out and explained she made people around her laugh and then defeated them while their senses were dull. "Do you think she can make me laugh?" Luffy asked. Ace put his hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe next time, Lu," Ace said with a smile. He had noticed it. After Luffy's torture, he smiled more. It was obvious. Luffy hadn't come out of that hell broken. He came out of it appreciating his life even more than before. Appreciating being around other people, making them happy with his enthusiasm, letting everyone know he was still himself even if he had been tortured. Being a beacon of strength. After all, if someone can go through torture and come back out like this, why couldn't others come out of their problems?

He was an inspiration and Ace couldn't be more proud to be his brother.

She introduced her students that were coming up behind her, and they all looked happy. Luffy returned the smile. Both he and Ace were having fun meeting all new sorts of people. Luffy waved at them, and once again he was recognized for his attitude at UA.

"You're that happy guy who won every battle!" one said.

Luffy nodded, and said it was really fun, and expressed that he hoped today was fun as well. It seemed Aizawa had given up on trying to get Luffy to know things were serious. He got things done, followed rules and instruction. He just didn't do it with a bad attitude or with fear distracting him. Ace was the same, he just wasn't as outwardly enthusiastic about everything like Luffy was.

Most things, but less than Luffy. The guy walked up to Luffy and gripped his hands, greeting him excitedly. His name was Shindo and he said UA's year so far has been rough after so much trouble. Luffy had no filter. "Don't worry, I got over the torture," he said with a grin. The guy faltered a bit, looking a bit shocked, but then smiled, saying that he liked his attitude. "Hopefully we won't be against each other! I'll try to learn from you."

"Maybe! You seem happy, so maybe I'll learn from you, too. Well, do your best. We'll all be doing ours," Luffy said for the group.

Kirishima said, "Is Luffy our spokesperson or something?"

"Well it makes us look good," Jiro commented. The others nodded. The joke hero poked at Aizawa and asked how he hadn't broken this child's spirit yet. Aizawa said he gave up on it long ago, making the joke hero laugh harder.

The blonde one who hadn't spoken yet walked up to Luffy and asked for an autograph. Luffy was shocked, but agreed, and wrote his first name and "Always be happy!" under it. Ace didn't know if he was trying to do it, but he was charming the enemies as well. Well, maybe making them look good will deter any attacks. Not that that was Luffy's intention at all.

Making people happy and being happy was one of the best feelings. Ace agreed with that, it was the way both of them lived. Luffy just seemed more of a social butterfly as of late. Not just with his own school but with enemy schools. It was another superpower.

"Hey, go get in your costumes and get to orientation," Aizawa ordered. They walked up the steps along with Aizawa, and Luffy asked, "Hey, are they gonna go after us first since they know our quirks and personalities?" Aizawa and the joke hero paused, looking at Luffy strangely. Aizawa asked why he thought that. "Well it would be a good strategy, wouldn't it? I wouldn't do it, but it would be good for others to do," he explained. Ace knew people sometimes forgot that Luffy was smart as well as happy and enthusiastic.

Aizawa settled with, "Keep that in mind, everyone." They all grew nervous, but nodded and went to get changed. Luffy apologized that he might have ruined the mood. But Momo said, "No, we know that that might be a possibility and now we won't be surprised. It was lucky you said something." The others nodded and after they were in their costumes, they went into the orientation room, he and Ace holding hands so they didn't get lost.

They ended up being separated from the others and ended up next to the cheerful guy. "Hey, again!" Luffy greeted him and told him his costume looked awesome. "Mine is kinda plain, but it's helpful for my stuff. Me and Ace have similar ones because we're twins." He was making sure to let nothing slip that would be used against him. Ace waved at the guy with a smile.

"It's nice to see very bright people in other schools. Now we know Luffy's not alone!" Luffy and Yoarashi nodded. He said sometimes everyone got annoyed with him. Luffy said he was glad that didn't happen to him. "You seem like a good guy, let's try to make it to the next round. Don't lose and I won't lose." He gave a fist bump to the guy. Ace shook his head, Luffy being friendly with the enemy.

Then the orientation started. A sleepy looking guy who also sounded sleepy introduced himself. Then he complained about being sleepy and overworked. He said there were 1,540 people and the first test would be a free for all exercise. Both Luffy and his new friend hissed, "Yes!" at the same time.

Ace just smiled, excited for this exercise. A free for all fight? Fighting all of each other? No, that would be more like a battle royale. The sleepy leader said that people were having second thoughts about the hero society after the whole Stain incident. "Well, as a private citizen, no matter what the motivation, to tell someone risking their lives to save others with no reward is…" he didn't complete that sentence and moved to the next.

"It's the ruthless story of these modern times…" he didn't finish it again. "But anyway, whether it's for compensation, or for loyalty and courage, the result of many heroes working hard together to help people and defeat villains is that right now, the time from when an incident begins to when it's resolved is so short that'd make you sick." He said they were all about to get their provisional license and get into those rapids. It was not a pep talk. And people who aren't good at speed will not win. So, he announced the first exam would be of speed.

"Like a race?" Luffy asked.

"I hope so!" the other guy said.

And they learned that the first 100 people to fulfill the requirements would pass. Luffy observed, "That means a lot of people will lose. I hope enthusiastic people will pass. We need happy people as heroes." The other guy was crying.

"Your way of thinking is beautiful!" he said. "I hope to see you pass." Luffy said he hoped that as well, and hoped they'd have some fun while doing it. Ace said it was weird that so many would fail when the pass rate was supposed to be 50%. Luffy nodded, saying it would be maybe 10% who passed. "Poor guys who fail. Well, they have next time. We're gonna pass, but if you don't, you have a safety net."

The happy guy said, "I plan on passing as well. But I agree that it is good everyone has at least one more chance, even if losing sets them back."

The sleepy guy finally said what they'd be doing. The exercise had each person put on three targets somewhere exposed, not hidden out of sight. They each got six balls that they could use to take down two people. So you need to get a ball of six targets, two for each person. If all of your targets are hit, you're out. If you got two targets on someone, anyone who got the third target would be the one to claim the victory.

Luffy raised his hand and Ace started to sweat. The guy was surprised with getting a question. "Yes?"

"Are we allowed to reuse balls, if we find them on the ground, or only those six?" he asked loud enough for him to hear in the front. Others muttered that it was a good question. He said they were allowed to use other balls if they ran out.

Ace said, "Good question, Lu. Don't ask anymore." He said it with a wicked grin, knowing what he meant. The guy hadn't said something important. He didn't say they couldn't guard their targets. In Luffy's case, have air armor on. In Ace's case, vaporize the balls before they get too close.

Suddenly, the ceiling opened up and showed a huge arena. "Wow. Didn't expect that," Yoarashi said. Luffy said it was awesome.

"Well, we'll see you at the end, my fellow happy guy," Luffy said brightly.

"Good luck, also my fellow happy guy," he said cheerfully. Ace and Luffy could read people, and this guy wasn't faking. He truly was this happy, and it was nice. To be around other people who are naturally happy.

Then they got a really good look once the dirt and dust cleared. There were different zones, similar to USJ, and the sleepy guy told them to use their quirks well. Guarding it is, then. This would be easy. But they'd continue to put people out for fun, and try to help their classmates get more people. Maybe they'd take out two for each person, making it easier for them.

Ace would have asked if they could continue to take people out after passing, but there was no rule against or for it. Loopholes were great, weren't they?

Ace and Luffy both put all three targets on their chest, and Luffy put out his air armor, Ace punched it for making sure it worked, and Ace rose his body heat exponentially, melting the ground beneath him.

Midoriya said they should stick together. Ace and Luffy frowned at that. "Can we go win and then come back for you?" Luffy wondered. The others frowned, asking how he was so sure they wouldn't get out.

Ace said, "We didn't just train attacks. We have shields." Luffy banged against his chest, showing there was something protecting the targets. The students worried about them leaving them.

"Well, we all did train for this. We can't only rely on one another," Iida said. Ace and Luffy shared glances. They really wanted to go all out. But they didn't want to leave their class. They'd take their two out at the very start when someone approached them. They wouldn't be on guard with Ace and Luffy like they should be, even if they had seen them work a lot on TV.

It was fun and awesome, so having others know their quirks wasn't a big deal. It was a great memory they'd have for forever. "We'll pass and then help out," Ace said, and Luffy agreed. They were at the front of the group, knowing where people were and that many were coming after them.

"I sense people, be right back," Luffy said with a grin. Ace nodded. Luffy ran up in the air, high above and only a few noticed him before he shot his three balls in quick succession and got one out already. "Got one!" he shouted, leaving the others in shock before he did a few flips and confused them before getting all three on another guy. His targets turned blue.

"Woohoo!" Luffy cheered and slid down an air slide to see Ace. He was being flashy, and letting everyone aim at him first. They exclaimed when the balls vaporized before hitting him, getting so close to the targets.

Ace grinned and shot two down immediately. "We both passed!" they shouted and gave one another high fives. "Let's go help everyone else!" Ace nodded and they went running back. "Got it! Now we can help you guys!"

" _Tw-Two people have already passed! We're ten seconds in!"_ the tired guy's voice said over the speaker. They heard exclamations and both of them grinned.

The class was speechless. "Don't just stand there, there are people coming!" Ace shouted. Both he and Luffy had passed already and could now do what they wanted without worrying. But they had to collect more balls.

When a ton of enemy students came at them, Ace and Luffy jumped into the air, kicked faces, punched into stomach, grabbing them under the armpits and slamming them into the ground. They'd knocked down twelve in a second. "Get them!"

"Wait, they've already passed. Don't waste your balls!"

When they went after Uraraka when she wasn't ready, Luffy jumped in front and caught it, flinging it back at the same guy's target in five seconds. "Ace, competition who gets more targets!"

"Yeah!"

The class was complaining that it wasn't fair they were just having fun now that they'd passed. "I thought you guys wanted our help. If you don't, then we'll be fine going off on our own," Ace said from standing on Luffy's shoulders on the air stairs that Luffy was crouching on.

"No! Don't leave us!" Ashido cried. Ace dropped down and Luffy stayed on his spot.

"Then get to work! We're not gonna do everything for you!" The guy in front of them was the happy one whose friend asked for an autograph. Luffy pouted. "Man, I thought you were genuinely happy!" he complained. The guy was shocked. All of them were.

They said, "Y-You were supposed to be clueless and weak!"

Luffy put his hands on his hips. "So I can't be enthusiastic and strong and smart at the same time? We scored highest in the festival, entrance exam and midterm test against All Might. All while being happy!" Luffy said brightly. "C'mon, they're distracted!"

"Separate them all!" the false-happy guy said, but everyone was already throwing balls, which Ace and Luffy both easily snatched out of the air and into their arms. Now they had extra ammo. Luffy called down to the class that they had extra ammo for them.

But they were repelling them okay. They both sensed harder objects about to be thrown and saw hardened balls flying. Ace said, "Nu-uh!" and blasted out white fire that vaporized them in mid air. The two who'd been responsible for that froze. They weren't taking balls from the air anymore, letting their classmates do their own work.

Luffy shot all of his fifteen balls and took out five. "I got seven!" Ace shouted back he got eight. "I'm not gonna let you top me again!"

Ace grinned. "Just you try, little brother."

"T-These guys are bad news!" the crowd said, many lamenting that they never even got a chance. "I thought you wanted everybody to pass!"

Luffy was still sitting in the air like a sniper, taking everyone out from above. He said, "Well I hoped that happy people would pass. Looks like there's only one enemy I want to pass. And it's not you, you false-happy people. Besides, I care about my fun and my friends more than liars." He said the last part a little darkly. Luffy made a bomb out of the spark glove and his air and leisurely tossed it down at them, blowing them up in the middle so they went flying in different directions.

"I don't like revenge, but I don't like liars either," Luffy said darkly. Then he panicked and planted his hands on the ground, making the earth tremble and throw everyone in different directions as the pillars rose high. "I'm still here. Real heroes are kind, they don't lie." And Luffy threw some of his extra ammo at the guy too rapidly for him to retreat. He was out.

He glared up at Luffy, who looked at him with disappointment.

He dropped down to Ace, who was just melting doorways for himself through the rocks, taking people out. Luffy said he'd gotten twelve. Ace had gotten fourteen. "That's what you get for monologuing," he joked.

Luffy laughed. "Hey, he lied to us! I had to be a little mean! Let's go to another place. They need to take care of themselves. They're strong enough to deal on their own." Ace nodded, and he grabbed onto Luffy while he ran across the sky. "Where do you want to go first?"

"Hmm, let's be pranksters! We never are so lets give it a try. I'll go and melt the mountain area." Luffy nodded and carried them there. Ace let out a blast of fire that Luffy combined with his wind and blasted a melted hole into the mountain. "Now people have a short cut."

Luffy said they should go find the wind guy, sure he'd passed already. They knew he was strong. Ace said sure and then looked for him with their haki before finding him in the city area. Luffy ran there and landed next to him. "Happy guy! Are you still happy or are you a liar, too?"

"Hey! You made it, too!" and they gave high fives. Luffy told him they were the first two to pass. That they wanted to pass quickly so they could have fun. "I'm glad you passed. The other guy I thought was happy was apparently lying. Heroes should be happy to help those around them feel better. Not be fake."

"I agree!"

Ace said, "Hey, do you wanna take part in our competition? We're seeing how many we can each get out." Happy guy put his hands on his waist, saying he'd already gotten 100.

"Noooo, we lose!" Luffy said, but then he changed. "No, we won't give up! There's still a lot of people down. See you later!" he called and he and Ace went jumping from building to building, still having the extra balls. They went around taking out everyone they could until people screamed when they saw them up above. That they were going to fail everyone.

" _New rule. Once you pass, you must return inside. Those who do not follow that rule from this moment on will be disqualified."_

The two pouted, but ran back to the door and found a handful of people there, including Todoroki. They were sad, their fun over. The ice guy asked, "You were the first ones to pass, right?" They nodded. "And you're the reason for this new rule." They said probably. They walked to the tired guy and asked if they could watch from the bleachers.

"That is fine," he said in a sleepy voice. He should take a nap.

"You seem really tired, can you take a nap and someone take your position?" Luffy asked in worry.

"No, this is my job. I'll sleep later, congratulations on passing." They thanked him and hurried to the stands. They saw Aizawa there with joke hero and she looked shocked. Aizawa said "good job. You make U.A. proud." The twins grinned and went to sit in the highest seats and watch.

"We barely got to use our new moves. I'm disappointed," Luffy said, sagging in his chair. Ace agreed. "Were we really that far above them? I don't understand why people aren't as strong as we are. Many should have been practicing and training longer than we have."

Ace pointed out that nobody else had haki. Luffy said that was true. Luckily, it didn't take long for the hundred to pass, and they hurried down to meet their classmates. And happy guy. "You guys did it! We all passed!" Luffy cheered. Ace nodded and they were all celebrating before the commentator and sleepy leader spoke, putting up a screen that showed the whole place blowing up and turning into a disaster site. That was the point. They knew even before he said it that the next test was rescue training.

They would rescue actors playing injured victims and gain or lose points for how they handled the rescues. If you were at or above the benchmark, you pass. Ace and Luffy immediately asked Ojiro and Sato if they wanted to team up after interning with Thirteen for a week. They agreed.


	18. Provisional License Exam Part 2

**Anime_Moon00: Next chapter goes more into emotional depth with the twins. Not everything is as it seems.**

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**A very short chapter this time. Next chapter is full of sadness and feels. I posted a new story, so go check that out if you want. Enjoy~**

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They had to wait ten minutes, so Ace and Luffy went to the bathroom and then came back. When they did, they heard happy guy tell Todoroki that he hated them. Ace glared and Luffy frowned. "Are we the only real happy ones? I thought he was happy, but apparently he hates us. Everyone's lying," he said spitefully. Happy guy turned around and heard this, with Luffy walking away with his head dipped. Ace glared at him and hurried after his twin.

"Don't worry. I'm sure there are plenty of happy people waiting for us in the hero world," Ace assured him as they walked back to the team members. Happy guy ran after them, looking guilty.

"I dislike Todoroki because of past issues, not with you guys. You two are nice guys," he said. Luffy wasn't convinced and looked away sadly.

He said, "We already had one happy guy lie and then attack us, what's one more?" Ace said, "Don't do that, Lu. Don't make someone else make you upset. Remember, you weren't going to lose your cheer?" Luffy's eyes widened.

He exclaimed in horror, "Oh no! Mean people are everywhere, we can't be mean." He said it with conviction and then smiled at the formerly known happy guy. "Well, you deal with your problems. You don't have to pretend anymore. I have Ace and my friends and that's all that matters."

Happy guy looked truly hurt and guilty, and walked away with his head down. But he held hate at Todoroki, and hatred wasn't a good quality for someone who strives to be a happy hero. Ace and Luffy had felt hate before, but when they were little, when everyone was after them for various reasons. From when their parents abused and mistreated him.

But after Gunhead saved them, they never wanted to hate anyone ever again. "I miss Gunhead," Luffy said suddenly. "Skyping isn't enough." Ace nodded, agreeing with him. They held hands on the bench near everyone else from their class who passed, which was awesome. Neither wanted to acknowledge it, but they were surprised that some of them passed. Like Mineta. Well, only Mineta.

Then the next match was starting, the voice over the speakers giving a scenario where only they could help. Heroes and first responders weren't there. The four of them with rescue training headed one way, Luffy running on air. He looked around and found a cluster.

"Sugar Man, Tailman! Over here! There are four over here! One buried under rubble and one unable to move!" the other three nodded and all four of them were there. Sato pulled the debris off of an old woman actor and Ace picked her up.

"Don't worry, ma'am, we'll take you someplace safe until help arrives. Lu, keep searching! I've got this one!" and Ace ran off to the already-designated safe place and brought her there. "Don't stress, you'll be fine," he said with a kind smile. She thanked him in a feeble voice. Man they were good actors.

Luffy was directing his classmates and brother to more people. Ace used his power to burn a hole in one huge piece of rubble and gently take the kid out. "Don't worry, I got you. I'll take you to safety right away and you can have your wound checked."

"Thank you!" he cried. Ace let him down and flew back as fire. Luffy was crouching in the air and pulling up a block of rubble that Ojiro was holding with his tail. "Ace! Help us out!" Ace ran after and was there to quickly pull both people out before the other two couldn't hold it up anymore. Sato, huge from eating so much sugar, took both victims and was giving them assurances.

Luffy directed his teammates to each area that most would have a hard time searching and were saving as many people as they could, and burning ways in to get people that were hard to pull out. They all used the way Thirteen old them to speak. Encouraging, but not lying. Worrying over them, but not freaking out. Expressing care and concern without scaring them.

When they heard an explosion, Ace and Luffy commented on the approaching presence, Luffy said he was going to be a shield for the camp and to keep rescuing people. "Got it! You heard it guys, we're on our own now!" Luffy sprinted in the direction of the camp that the villain actors were targeting. Luffy stood in front of it and made a massive wall shield infused with a lot of haki.

They asked what he was doing. "Shield! So no one here gets hurt and the other heroes don't need to worry!" Luffy shouted. One of the villains shot the cement at them, but the wall deflected it. Soon it was barraged with tons of the cement weapons, it bounced off every single one, Luffy using haki to keep the whole thing protective.

If he failed here, he'd lose so many points and would fail the exam. When Gang Orca saw him and the other heroes protecting the camp, he shot his own weapon that didn't damage the wall. The victim actors were screaming. "Don't worry! We're here to save and protect you! You've been through enough, let us take care of it!"

He tried out a new move and shoved one of his hands through the shield and let out a burst of wind that threw many of the smaller ones far back, slamming into the wall and dropping their weapons. They were conscious, so Luffy assumed they would be out of the game if there was a certain amount of damage.

The younger twin did this multiple times, asking for help from the others, who replaced him so he could focus on the shield. When the villains started attacking from the side, Luffy rushed to the edge of his current wall to form another, this time both walls on two sides, him in the corner. This was nothing, he could handle this. He wished Ace was here, but he could handle this as the others worked to fight off Gang Orca and the smaller villains.

They held them off and luckily they didn't move to any sides that he couldn't block. It was tiring, but he had to do this. He covered himself in armament haki everywhere but his face, which gave him a boost of energy.

A direct attack from Gang Orca was against the wall but the hardened air deflected it. Ace finally came back, saying Sugarman and Tailman were able to get the easier rescues. "Help protect my wall!"

The victims at the first aid station were screaming. "Don't worry! We're here, trust us until the pros get here! No one is gonna let you guy hurt anymore!" Luffy said and called Ace's name. He shoved a hand through the wall and shot a burst of air through Ace's huge ball of flame, directing it right at Gang Orca throwing him off his game so Ace could be right there and kicked him in the arm before dashing away again. It seemed to have done a little bit of damage as Ace had his whole body of haki super hot. It left a burn on his arm.

More and more people were being taken to the first aid station, people frantic. Now he wasn't the only one defending the station, but he was the one with the wall. Ace shot forward, and covered himself head to toe in haki as he sensed the attack that was going to be thrown against him.

Gang Orca put his forehead near Ace and sent a shockwave that pushed him back but kept him awake. It obviously shocked the guy and Ace got an uppercut. Luffy shot a blast of air back at him as he was just barely thrown off and Ace turned into fire and rode that blast of wind until he was right at his face and used the steel knee cap to get him in the jaw.

It did little to no damage, but it was a distraction. He jumped back, everyone trying to support him. "How many more to save?!" Ace called, dodging his attacks with observation haki.

"Only a little more! Keep doing it!" Luffy shouted. He had to hold the walls up now and couldn't afford any time to not focus on it. But then Ace was blown backward and hit the wall, only as flames and not injuring him. "You okay?" Luffy asked.

Ace nodded, though he was coughing. Todoroki finally showed up and iced up the feet of all the villains. Ace flew to each one and punched them once, enough to knock them out. But the not happy guy came and he and Todoroki started fighting while in the middle of an emergency.

They could have great attacks with wind and fire like Ace and Luffy, but they weren't trying to help each other at all. They were arguing like children. "Todoroki, not happy guy, what are you doing?! This is a battlefield!" Luffy shouted.

But he could hear what they were saying and so could Ace. They were loud, arguing about Todoroki being rude to him once. Ace bellowed, "Stop doing this or your not heroes!" They stopped. "Look at what you're causing!" Ace shouted and pointed to the crying actors. "Work together or get out of the way!"

When a blast of fire came at Ace and a hero that had been hit by Gang Orca, Ace sensed his friend. "Midoriya! Get him!" and Ace sucked in the flames right as they would have gotten the guy. He would have been burned badly. Midoriya got there just in time, saving him while Ace kept the fire from getting to Luffy's walls.

"What are you doing?!" Midoriya demanded while still in the air, furious at them like Ace was. The smaller villains weren't stopping as Gang Orca took out the unhelpful Todoroki and not happy guy.

"Lu! One more time!" Ace shouted. He had a huge ball of fire in his hands above him and Luffy put his hand through the wall. He burst out wind only this time it was wider instead of a blast. It made heat waves blow out of Ace's huge flame and melt the guns of the smaller villains, the cement inside the shooters falling on their own feet as their outfits melted too. Once the skin showed, Luffy and Ace turned off their powers, both panting.

Luffy was exhausted, and was so glad when the alarm was sounded that the citizens were all rescued and the test stopped. That was the end of the exam. Luffy let the walls down and was panting, his arms shaking.

Ace and Luffy made tired highfives, and Ace put his arm around Luffy. "I think we did okay. We did our best," Ace said with a grin. Luffy said he was hungry. They were instructed to change and then wait on standby. Luffy and Ace were both physically exhausted, but when the sleepy guy got to the points, which were taken away, not given, and multiple observers along with those they rescued gave the points. Well, took them away.

And when the names of those who passed got up, they looked for their own names and saw them. They still had no government last name, so their last name was just Gunhead. Whatever, but they both passed! Midoriya did as well and they hurried over.

"Midoriya, we did it!" Luffy said, and the three of them celebrated, the green haired one crying a little bit. Apparently everyone from their class passed. Except two. Both were obvious to the twins. Bakugo and Todoroki did not pass. Todoroki and not happy guy failed, as they deserved. They not only hindered those working against Gang Orca, but they almost hurt somebody during their argument. Bakugo probably didn't pass due to his attitude. They were judged sharply on how they acted around traumatized and scared victims.

The two had no doubt Bakugo wasn't the kindest person when it came to that. Ace said, "We really misjudged not happy guy." Luffy nodded.

They were given their results, and compared them. Ace had lost two because he said "fuck" right in a child actor's ear. Luffy laughed at that. He had lost one point because he also said a swear word but it wasn't as bad as "fuck". He said "shit" when surrounded by the little kids. It was their rescue training that saved them. They knew how to treat traumatized victims of a disaster, and their teamwork was great and they were both strong. Luffy's shield protected them all a lot.

So close to full scores! But they passed with flying colors. Luffy grinned. "Looks like I win this one, huh?"

Ace chuckled. "By one point." Luffy replied, "Still, though."

They gathered with the others, and were asked for their scores as everyone compared. "I got 99 and he got 98." Everyone around them went silent. "It's probably because we did our internship with Thirteen and we just learned about how to do this," Luffy said in a hurry.

When they were asked the demerits, they told them it was because they'd sworn in front of the actors who were supposed to be kids. "Well, that's what you get for being really charismatic. You're nice in any situation," Momo stated, but she also got in the 90s as well. Ace and Luffy smiled.

"Man, I'm tired. I had to hold up that wall for so long," Luffy complained.

Ojiro and Sato came over, and they had marks in the 90s as well. "All four of us actually learned something from our internships! The rescue squad," Sato said with a grin. The other three were so happy. "We got high marks on our team work, even when you and Luffy weren't fighting together. Thirteen was right about our quirks. Luffy's was really helpful and our strengths helped us pull people from the rubble. Plus Ace melted easier exits in some of the buildings."

Luffy said, "We should all thank her. I'm sure she'd be happy to hear she helped us pass this exam." They all agreed to do so. After a lengthy speech from the sleepy guy directly the whole test about them having the power to make decisions themselves in an emergency situation, those who didn't pass were told they could take a 3 month course and then get their own passes.

Todoroki was lucky and everyone but Mineta was happy for him. They went to get their backpacks and costume cases and got their licenses. It had their photos on it and their hero name, along with their real names. Lu and FireFist Ace. They hugged in happiness. When they went outside, not happy guy came over.

Luffy and Ace said nothing. "I'm sorry!" he said, slamming his head on the ground with a bow. "I made you think that I was lying before in my personality due to a petty grudge I've had for a long time. I wasn't lying to you, and I'm so sorry it seemed that way. And I'm sorry for causing you both trouble during the rescue exam while I got in what could have been a fatal argument."

Ace didn't say anything, knowing what Luffy was going to say. "We forgive you, but you can't be a true hero if you hold hate in your heart. That got in your way this time, it could get in your way next time when more is at stake. We hope you're able to get your license," Luffy said and he and Ace walked away holding hands. Both were exhausted, and would not be the ones cooking food tonight.

They both took photos of their licenses and sent them to Gunhead, though he would be at work right now. They hoped he'd see it before they went to bed.


	19. The Hidden Pain

**Anime_Moon00: I hope you had a nice Christmas as well! This chapter has no laughs, I bet you'll cry. Mwahaha!**

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**I hope everyone had an okay Christmas! This chapter is kind of depressing. Okay, really depressing. Enjoy anyways~**

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Both Luffy and Ace were asleep, one arm thrown over Ace's face in a way that would be uncomfortable if he wasn't used to it, when Luffy woke to a presence moving away from their room. He opened the door to see Midoriya leaving. "Midoriya?" he asked with a sleepy voice. "Where you goin'? It's midnight."

"Wha's goin' on?" Ace slurred. The green haired said that he was getting a bit of fresh air. Luffy said "oh okay" and went back in his room and flopped back down, Ace shoving him over to take more room for himself. They fell back asleep easily.

When they woke up the next day, showered and then dressed, they went downstairs to see Bakugo and Midoriya cleaning. They were on house arrest for going outside late that night and fighting with Bakugo. When Ace and Luffy heard of this, they turned and walked away, going to school. So, another lie.

When they walked back to school, it was Ace and Luffy and then the rest of the class. When they got to the entrance of the main building to put their shoes away, they ran into the negative guy in class 1-B. The one who had a bad attitude. He teased them for having two people not pass. When Kirishima asked if he hadn't passed, he turned around and told them the whole class passed.

"Wow! Good job!" Luffy said brightly. "We were so close to having the whole school pass!" he said sadly. Todoroki said he was sorry at the back of the group. They asked how Luffy and Ace had done for theirs. "We did good! We were the first two to pass in the free for all ball game, and we got so close to 100 points on the rescue part. We both swore in front of the kids, so that knocked us down."

Monoma said, "There they go! Always perfect! Stop bragging."

Ace frowned and Luffy looked down. "Why is it bad to be happy about successes?" Ace asked. "We did well, shouldn't we be proud?" he added in a cold voice. It hurt Luffy's feelings, and Ace wouldn't allow that.

His class said, "Leave them alone. You're just jealous. He can be happy, he was the one that encouraged all of us to work as a team. You don't need to be an asshole because you're jealous. We're sorry, Luffy, he has no filter."

Luffy put up a false smile. "Okay, it's fine." Ace was upset because Luffy was upset. They barely paid any attention to the speech in front of the whole school, and were distracted when they went back to class. Uraraka asked what was wrong, seeing their clear gloom.

"Is it about what Monoma said? He's always been rude to us, hasn't he?" she asked.

Luffy said, "I hate it when people say we're perfect. We're not perfect. Should we be ashamed of what we work hard for? I don't understand it and I never have. Just because we're good at school or fighting or making friends doesn't mean we're perfect. I have lots of problems. Ace has lots of problems. I just don't like it." Ace was silent but was agreeing.

Luffy hid it, but he still had nightmares. He was still afraid when all of the lights went off. He was healed mostly from the torture, but he knew all things would never be the same again. It did make him appreciate life and nice people more. But there were still the lingering effects.

Ace hid it, but he was still traumatized from losing Luffy, not knowing where he was or if he was alive for four days. He was terrified of not being in the same room at the same time with him. He hid it as well, not wanting to upset Luffy, who worked so hard to move on as much as he could.

People saying they were perfect or shaming them for being good at things didn't help either of them. They were never normal. They were street rats for most of what they could remember. Their childhood was a nightmare. People didn't know that, but it still hurt them when they were resented for climbing out of that shit hole of a life and forced themselves to be good at things, be ready, be prepared. Be positive.

They were always positive because they knew their life now was worlds away from the hell they'd suffered for 12 years. Maybe they should be people again. But neither of them had the desire to be negative. They liked having friends.

And things got harder when they moved into the dorms. It made sense safety wise, but emotionally, they were still heavily impacted by what had happened, and to be ripped away from someone who offered to adopt them days earlier had been terrible. They wanted to go home, they missed Gunhead. They missed privacy. They had their own room there, but they had to share everything else. They ate together, went to school together. They loved their class and friends. But sometimes it was hard.

So being told they were perfect made them angry because the people who say that only take them at face value, and didn't see how damn hard they worked to be the people they were today. It didn't help today, when they found out Midoriya lied again. Maybe a small one, but a lie nonetheless.

They would have wanted to stop him from going because he'd get in trouble, but they wouldn't have tied him up and kept him in his room. Maybe they would have gotten in trouble for letting it happen, but they had to find out about it by other people around other people.

"I… I want to go home," Luffy mumbled. "I don't want to do the dorms anymore. I mean, I know I've healed a lot since I was kidnapped. But days after I finally went home, mostly healed, we were forced to come here. And Gunhead said he'd adopt us and then we had to leave. I didn't get any time to be home with my family before we were forced to go somewhere unfamiliar."

The others were quiet. "I never thought about it like that. From your perspective. You didn't get any time to be how you would of course be after something like that, and then you both were forced to deal with it on your own while keeping face with everyone else," Uraraka said. The class was quiet.

Kaminari said, "I'm sorry that I've gotten jealous over your success. I know you worked really hard for it and people shouldn't react to it negatively." The others nodded.

Luffy sighed, "We just wanted to be normal. We didn't get to go to school until we were thirteen. We studied so hard so we could be normal students and do normal things but then everyone started seeing us as perfect. It made us happy at first, that people liked and looked up to us. I do like being happy and making others happy. But I feel like it just makes me look like a shallow airhead."

Ace was holding his hand. "I promise we don't think of you like that," Kirishima said firmly. "Maybe to others you seem like that but after you told us about the torture, and what happened when you were gone, it made you seem really deep, you know? And it shouldn't have been talking about torture that made us see you as imperfect."

"When we saw Ace how he was after you disappeared, we knew things weren't perfect. But we didn't mean to make you feel you had to keep up face of being happy all the time. You're not at a safe home space in the dorms. And none of us get any time to see our families, really. And I know I've always had a family. And you guys just got Gunhead and it's not fair to you," Ashido explained.

Ace and Luffy were nodding. They wanted to have a normal family. "Maybe if I hadn't been kidnapped, everyone would be with their families," Luffy said in a flat voice.

The hall erupted into protests to that, and Ace did as well. "Even if you hadn't been taken, the school would have still acted." Luffy said that if he hadn't made them angry they would have left everybody alone. Ace was worried, Luffy was spiraling downwards. "If we hadn't done well in the school festival, Bakugo would have won and wouldn't have seemed so angry. Then they wouldn't have had a reason to come after him in the first place."

Ace put his hands on Luffy's shoulders. "Lu, please stop. There's no what ifs. We know that. We can only move on and look for a better day, right?" Luffy looked away and said a better day wouldn't always come. The class was worried and Ace didn't know what to do.

" _Maybe if we weren't born, mommy and daddy wouldn't hit us."_

" _Maybe if I wasn't good at my quirk then we wouldn't be homeless."_

" _Maybe if I could use my quirk better than we could have friends."_

" _Maybe if we didn't fight back they'd leave us alone."_

" _Maybe if we were always happy, people would love us."_

Ace had tears in his eyes, trying to hold them in. Was he putting on a front this whole time? Was he doing this for everyone else? He knew Luffy loved being happy and loved making others happy. But how much of that wasn't practiced? How much of that was him wanting to be happy, so he forced himself to be happy?

"Luffy, we don't need to be happy all the time."

"I don't know who I am if I'm not happy," Luffy said, painfully honestly. Ace's face crumpled, and the girls were all sniffling, too. The guys were feeling sorry, and they were glad Bakugo wasn't there. Luffy was the glue in the class that made everybody happy. But how much was he stretched thin?

"I'm sorry I made everybody sad," Luffy said.

Uraraka replied firmly, "It's not your job to make us all happy." Luffy said good heroes make everyone happy. "Is Aizawa-sensei always happy? He's _never_ happy but he's still a good hero."

"Are you guys just going to talk out there or come in?" Luffy apologized for making them stop and walked inside, a blank mask on until it disappeared and his bright smile came on. Like an off switch. Ace was still crying. He felt he'd neglected Luffy for so long. He was his brother. He should have realized you don't go through the things they'd gone through without a touch of trauma. He should have realized nobody can be that happy all the time.

He should be a better brother. He should have kept Luffy safe. They were two minutes apart but he was the big brother. He shook his head. Ace couldn't fall into despair when Luffy was like this. He wiped his eyes when he entered, and everyone else was in terrible moods as well. They felt guilty and selfish. Ace could see it.

And it was bad for Luffy. He was seeing, right now, that him being sad made everyone sad. Him being happy made everyone happy. Maybe they should get counseling like Aizawa had offered in the beginning. Aizawa saw the mood of the class, saw the tears and red faces. And he pretended it wasn't happening. But that was what Luffy wanted. He didn't want others to be sad because of him.

"Okay then, we'll be continuing regular class sessions starting today. A lot of unprecedented things happened, but you'll need to switch gears and focus on your duties as students. We'll be staying inside the classroom today, but this semester you'll have even harsher training than before."

Ace glanced at Luffy, who was watching Aizawa talk with a blank expression. Talk about the hero work studies that were like the hero internships but more like the real thing, that they'd be working outside of class and not as a school activity. They all went in a roundabout way of saying it, but all it was was spending time with pro-heroes as interns instead of guests. They had provisional licenses and were being considered to be used as so much villain activity had started since first years usually weren't included.

Luffy was panicking inwardly. His selling point was that he was happy. He and Ace were happy kids. Why… Why wasn't he feeling happy? He was always happy, but now he was really sad. He wasn't being himself. He would be strong. He would force his weakness down, bury it under thinking about good times, being with Ace, being a hero with him.

He had never been kidnapped. He'd never been tortured. He was normal. He wasn't afraid of the dark, he didn't have nightmares. He never cried. He was happy. Luffy was happy.

_He was happy._

Ace could tell Luffy was not feeling well, and simply reached his hand over and held it securely. "We'll be okay, as long as we're together," he said quietly. Luffy nodded, and squeezed Ace's hand back. But would the class accept that, or would they baby him? Would they all be sad after this?

He wouldn't make everyone sad. He wanted to be a hero that made people smile. That was who he was.

When classes were over, Luffy walked straight to their room, Ace following after.

Luffy stared at the mirror in their bathroom. "Am I broken, Ace? I always feel happy, but now I'm just sad and don't feel good."

Ace brought Luffy to the bed. "I'd say you were more broken if you only ever felt happy. That's not true, right? You enjoy being happy, everyone enjoys being happy. But 'happy' isn't a personality, Lu. It's just a state of mind. You are Luffy. You're not happy, you're not sad. You're you and you can feel any sort of emotion you want at any time you want."

Luffy smiled sadly. "I want to be a hero that makes everyone smile."

"And you can be that and anything you want. I think you'd feel much better if you weren't happy all the time. I don't know how much you force yourself to be that way, but a hero can't make others happy if he's not truly happy," Ace said.

"I'm happy when we do fun things and don't have to think about bad things," Luffy said.

Ace replied, "You can't ignore the bad things forever, neither can I. I can't be happy all the time either, Luffy. You are not alone. We're both a little messed up, and the timing of leaving home right after returning was cruel to you and me, but especially you." Luffy nodded, agreeing that it wasn't fair.

He said, "I miss Gunhead. I only called him dad once and it was an accident, but he didn't get upset. Then we were taken away from him. I thought he'd be a good dad, but now we can't see him or be with him." Ace nodded, agreeing with that.

The older twin said, "I want to make him proud, but I think he'd be upset with us. Both of us, for burying our problems under a mountain of happiness. I do think you are naturally happy, a social butterfly. I think you make others happy just by being around you. That's you. You're kind and accepting and encourage others.

"But you have to forgive yourself for having weak moments. You're human, Lu. And no matter what happens, we go through everything together. We'll always be together." Luffy nodded and then fell apart, crying heavily into his pillow, letting everything out. Sobbing over pent up fear and stress and humiliation.

He was kidnapped so easily. He was tortured, but he'd stayed strong for Ace. It was all for Ace, he had only thought of him. Never himself. He loved Ace with all his heart, and all they'd ever known was suffering and being together. The suffering was gone, far behind them, but Ace was here. Would always be here.

Ace rubbed Luffy's back as his sobs turned into sniffles. There was a knock on the door. "Not now, Midoriya," Ace said. He was angry. Learning another lie had come from him probably didn't help things that day.

"Oh, okay," the other said, sounding sad. Ace couldn't care less right now. All he was thinking of was Luffy.

Luffy sat up and wiped his eyes. "I feel better now. I needed to cry." Ace nodded saying he needed to as well. They stayed in their room the rest of the night, and were so thankful when dinner was brought to them, which was a large pizza. They didn't know how they somehow snuck pizza into the dorms, but they were happy with it.

A card was on it. "Be happy when you want to be happy," with a smiley face. The back was signed by all of their classmates. They ate the whole pizza and then went to bed. Work would start tomorrow. And maybe that would be helpful. They couldn't believe it had only been summer. So many things happened it was hard to think that it was all over summer break. The summer camp that ruined everything for everybody.

The next day, Luffy was chipper. He felt much lighter. A different happy. He wasn't smiling brightly. He was smiling with a content smile, and multiple people in their dorms commented on it. They said they liked this smile more than his usual one.

Nobody had said a thing about his moment of weakness. But they did promise to not put them on pedestals again. It had been eye opening and almost refreshing, seeing Ace and Luffy not with that facade of "everything is wonderful, we're the best". They felt closer as a group now after they all saw the pain Luffy was in and hadn't known.

The pain had flowed out, but it ebbed away again. Summer was over. That nightmare was behind them, and they were starting a new semester. Ace and Luffy held hands on their way to class the next day and nobody said a word. The class because they knew about what had happened the day before.

And the rest of the school as they knew the two were close based on first hand accounts or second hand sources, and knowing that having your family kidnapped and tortured would make people close.

At least they finally had a reason to without people thinking they were weird, or too old to hold hands. So it was nice. Everyone seemed content. A different kind of happy, but a type of happy nonetheless. The atmosphere was relaxed. Not bubby, but it still felt nice. A new nice that Luffy liked a lot.

He didn't feel any pressure on him to be cheery. He was positive, and upbeat, but he wasn't abnormally perfectly sweet. He was still kind, but he felt anger for the first time in a long time. At Monoma. Ace felt anger at him for being how he was. How he ruined Luffy's day the day before and made him show that part of him in front of everybody.

But, nobody mentioned it other than the note with the pizza the night before. He'd burned the pizza boxes for good measure.

In class, Ace rolled his chair to Luffy's desk and they shared it that day. None of the teachers said a thing, and the twins were starting to think the teachers knew and understood more than they let on.

Aizawa began class by telling them he wouldn't be talking about the hero work studies, but three students would. The big three, one blonde man with a bright smile that was similar to Luffy's current content one, that still rested softly on his face, one girl with long blue hair, and another guy with black hair and ears with a slight point at the tip. They were the three top of the class, and Ace and Luffy could tell the most powerful was the blonde one with a bright face.

Amajiki was the first who was supposed to talk, but he looked really scary for a moment, making Ace and Luffy curious until he started to shake, saying he was imagining them as potatoes but still couldn't speak.

Luffy raised his hand, "You could turn around and plug your ears so you don't know we're here but you can still talk," he suggested. The three looked at him, and Amajiki turned around and tried it. He was able to say his name and explain some of his quirk before he fizzled out and just put his forehead against the wall.

"Wow, it worked a moment!" the blonde sad cheerily. The class chuckled. Aizawa said, "Luffy likes to speak his mind, but it's always pleasant so please forgive his rudeness." Luffy quietly apologized.

When Hado Nejire spoke, she was quite chipper. It reminded Ace of Luffy on his extremely hyper days when he drank too much soda. She bounced from person to person, question to question without really giving anyone time to answer. So she was weirdly hyper and the Amajiki was weirdly shy and awkward. Interesting!

They both wondered what the blonde one was like. "Alright, I'm going to be the last to wrap things up." He put his hand around his ear like he wanted them to say something and asked, "The future's gonna be…?"

"Fun," Luffy suggested, the only one to reply.

"Wrong! Grim! That's what you were supposed to say, right?" Luffy mumbled that that wasn't very encouraging, and Ace shushed him, though he was smiling fondly. "Alright, my call and response was almost a fail. I guess fun woulda' been better, right?" and then he started laughing loudly.

Luffy said, "I like him," very quietly. Not loud enough for anyone else to hear. Ace nodded in agreement.

After a moment of monologuing, the guy, Mirio, they'd heard his friend say, said it would be easier to fight them than explain. Luffy looked intrigued and so did Ace, though they knew they'd get their asses whooped. He said that experience fighting him would show the experience he'd had. Aizawa agreed, and they all got dressed in their gym clothes and walked outside.

Ace and Luffy were excited for what was gonna happen, see how this guy was strong. The students asked him if he was serious, and he confirmed he was while he stretched. When Amajiki and Hado started saying that people who lost to Mirio were upset after that, the students began bragging about their successes.

Ace and Luffy shook their heads. They felt that Mirio was watching their reaction even if it was hard to see where he was looking. "You can come at me at any time!" Mirio said.

The twins did not attempt first. Instead, it was Midoriya. "Here I come!"

Mirio said, "That's good! You really are energetic!" Then Midoriya attacked and his leg went right through the guy. And his clothes also fell off, but the twins were more interested in the former than the latter. They looked at one another and covered themselves in armament haki where it wasn't visible. After all, that worked against multiple quirks so far. Maybe it would this one.

They didn't attack for once, and waited to see what he'd do. They knew he was strong, and werent hot headed right now. They weren't like the rest of the class, they weren't cocky, even if they were at the top of it.

All of the attacks from behind when he was distracted did nothing and went right through him. Then he attacked from behind, the brothers knowing where he'd go. He went at the guts of each student so quickly they didn't see it. Besides Ace and Luffy, who jumped out of the way, the only ones left standing. Everyone else was on the ground.

They both had their arms up in a fighting stance. Looking uneasy. He looked at them in curiosity. "Wow! I've never had anyone dodge me like that! You two seem strong! Top of the class and winners of each round of the sports festival, right!"

"You're giving us too much credit," Ace said simply. He and Luffy were ready, Luffy having his invisible armor on.

"Hmmm," he said and sunk into the ground. They jumped away before he resurfaced right next to them. They dodged some more and he kept coming up from behind. They dodged easily each time, and when he tried punching Luffy, he pulled up his shield, deflecting his fist. The big three were all staring at them now.

The twins didn't know what to do. Everyone was watching and they didn't want to fail. Mirio was grining, and was clearly going to do a special move on Luffy, probably going to go right through him until he blocked his arm and punched him in the face, jumping back. He looked shocked.

"Wow, wow! How'd you do that, how'd he not go through you!" Hado asked excitedly.

Luffy weakly said he could harden air and put a shield up. Everyone was silent. "What, we were supposed to fight back, right?!" he asked loudly, not understanding their reactions. Mirio sunk back into the ground but instead of coming back at them, he went for the others. They knew what he'd do but didn't have haki to sense where he was coming from, so they all got punched in the gut, too.

Soon, only Ace and Luffy were left standing, both fists up and wondering what to do next. "Wow! You two have a lot of potential!" Mirio said excitedly. Luffy grinned. And Ace smiled a bit, too. One of the top three had acknowledged them. "As do the rest of you, you're just not there yet!"

People started getting irate before Tsu said, "Remember, everybody?" And they all stopped, nodding. They wouldn't be jealous or put the twins on a pedestal anymore. Ace and Luffy were thankful for that.

Mirio got dressed and then apologized for being naked in front of the girls. He said they must get it by now. Everybody but Ace and Luffy were holding their stomach in pain. They both felt lucky they didn't have to go through that. They were fast enough. But was haki cheating? It was another ability, right? So it was theirs to use if they wanted to.

And they couldn't turn it off like armament haki. It was always on, always alert, though it wasn't distracting anymore.

Mirio said, "Did you all think my quirk was strong?"

Luffy and Ace said a definitive "no". Everyone stared at them. "I mean, if he's going through stuff like the floor and walls then wouldn't he not be breathing underground? So he has to hold his breath? Wouldn't that be challenging to use? Or when he slipped through his clothes. And, he seems stronger physically, right? He didn't hurt you by using his quirk; he just used it to his advantage and then used his physical and strategic skills. I doubt he can hurt you with his quirk directly as he'd gone straight through Midoriya's face and it didn't harm him. It was a fake. Maybe he can solidify his arm in your face and rip you apart, but that seems more like from a horror story than reality," Ace explained. Then he added quickly, "I could be wrong."

The big three were interested in them, and it made Ace and Luffy feel a bit awkward. Like they were under a microscope. They hadn't felt this way in the sports festival in front of millions of people around the country. But they did now.

"That is close! I do not breathe, but it's because I go through everything. I can't see or hear or smell. Everything goes through me." Luffy raised his hand.

"If you can't see when you're doing that, then how could you see when you were half in the ground?" He replied that he couldn't see, but predicted beforehand. "Oh."

Mirio then explained everything about his quirk, and the difficulties it caused. Then he said he had been dead last since his quirk was so troublesome, so he had to be smarter and faster than everyone. And his predictions came from experience. That was why he fought them to show them.

"And I met some interesting people, as well!" Someone mumbled that it was good Bakugo wasn't there. He added that they would be treated as sidekicks during the hero work studies and might go through scary things and see people die, they would have experience that they wouldn't have from school.

He changed the experience he got through the work studies into power and took the top spot! "That's why I think you should do it even if you're scared first years!" Luffy started clapping first and everyone followed.

Ace muttered, "We've seen enough shit that we won't be bothered by any of it." Luffy nodded in agreement. They'd seen murder and dead bodies often when they were street rat in that unregulated hell hole. "But we'd become stronger. Stronger than we are now, hopefully."

Luffy said, "Hopefully smarter instead of stronger, right?"

Mirio asked, "You two? What are your names?"

Ace answered. "I'm Ace, this is my twin, Luffy." He asked for their last names. "We don't have one, so on paperwork we just put Gunhead afterwards. He's our guardian." Mirio asked what their goal was.

Luffy responded, "To be a hero pair that makes people smile when we save them. We don't need to smile when saving people, we want them to smile." That showed how they were distinguished from All Might and Midoriya, who want themselves to smile when saving someone.

"That's a wonderful goal." And he left after they all said thank you.

After getting back to class, and changing out of their gym clothes, Aizawa told them that even though they were just shown about it from the big three it hasn't been decided whether or not you'll be sent to work with a pro-hero. "We need to determine that at a faculty meeting, and if we do it, we have to think about how to handle the media, too. We'll see how it goes for now."

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**So, there are friendship problems between Ace and Luffy and Midoriya. Not everything goes perfectly in my stories. ;) See you next week (or tomorrow depending on if you read more of my stories!)**


	20. Work Studies Begin!

**Anime_Moon00: Aw, thank you! Suffering is the best, I like reading angst and suffering, too! I've tried countless times to write stories that aren't fanfiction and they flop every time. :( Besides this children's story I wrote a long LONG time ago. but making a mange or webcomic would be super fun. I do have an art program made for that, but I feel the stress of making the content or dropping it would be hard. :(**

* * *

That night, Ace and Luffy were pestered about how they were able to dodge Mirio and attack him back. They said they just somehow had a feeling where he'd pop up from. "Besides, Gunhead taught us proper dodging almost as the first thing." Uraraka said she knew that, too, from training with him during their short internships.

Midoriya said that Mirio looked really interested in them. "Well, they were the only ones able to fight back, so of course he would," Sero replied. Sato came from the kitchen and announced that the cakes were done. Everyone hurried over to get slices of the chocolate cake he'd made. They were giving the brothers more breaks from cooking as they all improved.

But Sato was still the best baker. They had an Italian pasta dish that Momo had had when she visited there once, and then they went to bed, excited for what would happen next, if not a bit antsy.

Ace and Luffy were excited, too, but got to sleep just fine.

A couple days later, something surprising happened. A photographer and interviewer was allowed to stay with the kids to do a scoop on their daily lives. It was uncomfortable for many, but others were excited about it.

Many already decided to stay in their rooms when he was there, including Ace and Luffy. But when they were told this was for the world to know how they were adjusting to the dorms, and that it showed parents and guardians how they were doing and if they were happy there... Maybe Gunhead would see it.

They weren't happy about this much, but they had a message for him that they'd show to the camera. A sign for Gunhead to know he was missed. They both felt the new presence before they saw him, and he looked like a journalist somehow even if the twins rarely saw them.

He introduced himself as Tokuda, a reporter. "Thanks for having me today," and he bowed, the rest of the class returning it. They wondered what he really wanted, sensing a fib under the surface even though he seemed like a journalist. Hmm, they'd see later, they guessed. He asked them to be normal and not put a front for the camera. He did say he'd ask some questions, but that was it.

The minute he was done talking, Ace and Luffy left the room but both came back with shirts that had paper taped to both the front and back that all said, "We miss you Gunhead" and didn't even try to hide it. The others laughed but they got back to their meals. Ashido and Hagakure made breakfast that day.

They had to take the signs off for going to school, and there were photos taken of them while they sat in the same seat, something they did regularly now. There was enough room for them to take notes and it was helpful that Luffy was left handed and Ace was right, so their elbows didn't bump.

After class that day, they asked Aizawa if they could move their desks together. He was understanding. It was still only six weeks after the incident. It felt nice that they weren't shamed, and they got to do that.

The camera guy asked them later why they sat together. "We're twins. The summer camp incident hit us harder than everyone else," Ace said vaguely. Luffy had no problem with people knowing, and maybe they'd be inspired by Luffy's attitude after such a thing. Ace knew he was going to say something about it but didn't stop him.

"I was the one kidnapped and tortured. But I'm perfectly fine now, so nobody has to worry!" The guy was shocked, like everyone always was. He asked how he had stayed strong through something so scary, now sounding sympathetic but impressed. He sounded like a real person.

He took a picture off Luffy smiling while explaining, holding his brother's hand. "I was afraid of what would happen to Ace if I left him all alone. We're twins and all we've had for a long time, so we're really close. Maybe too close to some people, but it's just how it is. And we both want to be a hero pair so we work together. Always." Ace put his arm around Luffy's neck and grinned. "It wasn't scary as long as I thought about getting back home. I stayed awake for four days so they wouldn't kill me in my sleep. I did start to hallucinate at the end, and I thought all my saviors were walking cat people," he said with a laugh.

"We'll that's pretty much it. And maybe also add in that Luffy is talking to inspire other people. He's always been open about it with classmates." He said he'd love to add that in. Ace and Luffy shared glances and both shrugged. "As long as you don't make Luffy seem like he needs pity, that's fine."

The reporter grinned and said there was no reason for Luffy to be pitied over what he's managed to overcome by caring for his brother. "Oh, and please don't use the word perfect. Being called that bothers us. Also, please don't trash the school. They're going to do everything to protect us."

"Humble and kind. You'll make a good pair indeed. Thank you for being honest with me. I will not say anything about the school." The twins waved it off and said they were going back to the dorms to do homework.

Only the next day the article came out. It had a photo of both brothers smiling. " _U.A. Sports Festival Fan-Favorite Opens Up About Traumatic Incident"_

_During an unfortunate outcome from a villain attack on a protected hero summer camp, two students were taken. One to negotiate and one to torture. Luffy opened up about his torture, smiling and laughing all the same only weeks later. His inspiration and reason he kept going? His twin brother, Ace. He said he couldn't die and let his brother suffer. He stayed awake four days to keep living, and was finally rescued by the pro-heroes and taken to a hospital. He wants to inspire others to face their problems as well. It was traumatic for both, but they're happy and not letting those hurdles and painful times crush them. They should inspire everyone going through a tough time._

_These brothers are much stronger than shown during the sports festival! They are being kept as safe as possible with the building of the U.A. dorms where the students enjoy living. Is it a happy ending? So far! Keep up the good work, U.A. students!_

And then there was a picture of them with their messages on their backs while sitting with others. Showing their message and also showing the other students were happy all eating dinner together. They assumed that was their gift for giving the reporter an inspiring story.

"Ahh! You guys are in the news! Why didn't I get interviewed?" Ashido complained. Shoji pointed out that the public didn't know much about her. They knew about the brothers from when they stood out before. Luffy had attracted people to him and was now easy to recognize on the street, as well as Ace.

"A news story on you wouldn't have been as popular since nobody would know who you are." Ashido pouted. "At least they made U.A. look good, though. I thought they'd trash it." Ace said that they asked him not to. They were glad they wouldn't be in trouble since Aizawa had not said a protest to being interviewed. Maybe not about that, but there had been no specifications.

They were surprised when All Might came to their dorm building, knocking on the front door and then letting himself in. He made a beeline for Ace and Luffy who grew stiff. "Do not worry young Ace and Luffy, you are not in trouble. The opposite. As a school, we'd like to thank you for the interview you gave. Not only has it made our students look strong, but it also highlighted that we are doing everything we can to protect you all.

"We've gotten many apology emails and letters from both parents and citizens. It seems it helped redeem U.A. just a little bit for our mistakes. We commend your honesty and openness about that incident. So we thank you." Luffy was beamed and put his hand behind his head.

He said, "We asked them to not trash the school, we didn't expect them to make it sound good. He was a nice guy. And he put up photos with our shirt messages!" he laughed. The others laughed as well, and the atmosphere was wonderful, full of cheer and proudness.

"I am going to say it. An honest hero is trusted more than one who says false truths. If you can't believe the words of a hero being true, then how can you believe in them?" Ace and Luffy saw huge hypocrisy in this statement, as All Might had been hiding his injury and state for years. But nobody said anything.

Luffy just smiled and thanked him. Bakugo didn't scoff or scowl. The twins had a feeling he'd never react to anything about the time with the villains that both of them had shared. Which was nice.

When they went to class, even the students not in the hero courses, thanked him for making the school look good, and smiled at them. Both Ace and Luffy were feeling good. They hadn't pretended for these people to like them, they hadn't even tried. Luffy and Ace gave an honest interview, they didn't do it to be popular or well liked, though it was a good side effect.

When they got to class, Aizawa simply said that it was a good interview in his bored voice, and class started. The first thing he told them was that the teachers and principles had talked about them doing the hero work studies and had all said no. The students were rightfully upset. But then Aizawa said that some think that they wouldn't make good heroes in today's politics, so they came to the conclusion that first years will only be allowed to go to agencies with good track records of accepting work study students.

Ace and Luffy wondered where they'd go. There wasn't a huge list this time. "We already are strong, and we already did rescue training. Maybe we should choose an agency that teaches how to be a responsible hero correctly besides rescue situations," Ace mused, Luffy agreeing.

"Then we'd be hitting the big three requirements, right? A hero mindset, hero skills, and hero rescue," Luffy replied. Midoriya looked at them from in front and frowned. "What's wrong?" Luffy asked.

"You guys have more training than a lot of us. You were already strong so you got to skip that step and got to Thirteen." Ace pointed out that he could have gone to Thirteen. But he said that he hadn't been offered. They forgot about that.

"Well now you have another chance," Ace said positively.

After class, Ace and Luffy were walking to the cafeteria when they felt Mirio's strange presence come over to them through the wall. "Hey! You two are the ones who were solid, right?" Ace and Luffy nodded. "Can I talk to you both for a bit?" The two weren't too hungry, so they agreed. They went to a bench in an area not very busy. "I read your article this morning." Ace and Luffy looked uneasy. "I thought it was amazing! I couldn't even tell you two went through that. You were both so energetic and Luffy was so happy. It was funny, your answers in class. I tried not to laugh!"

Luffy said, "I like that you seem happy, too. And you don't seem like a liar-happy person." Mirio swore he wasn't a liar and was naturally happy. Then he got back on topic.

"So you're doing hero work studies soon, correct?" they both nodded, and Ace said they didn't know who to pick yet or really how to pick. "We're already strong physically and with our quirks, and we did rescue training with Thirteen for our first internships. The next step is practical hero-ing. Doing boring and responsible things. After that, we can be closer to being real heroes."

Mirio said he liked their honesty, and that their plan on progressing as heroes were good. Going from the easiest to the hardest. Since practical appliance of what they'd learned and trained for was incredibly helpful and necessary.

"Experience to be powerful, right?" Luffy asked, remembering his speech.

"Exactly! So, I was wondering if you'd both like to meet my own mentor for the hero work studies. He read your interview and asked to see you both, already knowing of your strength and teamwork shown during the sports festival. And after how he'd seen Luffy so bubbly, but switch gears when he had to be serious.

To that, Luffy said, "Everyone thinks me being silly and happy makes me stupid. But we're not, we're both top of the class in skill and academics. Learning is fun so we take advantage of the chances." Mirio put his thumb up and said that was how he was seen as well. Silly and stupid by people meeting him for the first time, but hardworking and smart once they got to know them.

Ace finally asked who his mentor was. "He's Sir Nighteye, a pro-hero who worked under All Might." They looked uneasy.

"I heard he's really harsh and cold," Luffy said.

Mirio just grinned. "Once you get to know him, you'll see that isn't the case. And besides, don't you think being under someone strict will prepare you for the real world? If torture didn't break you two and you're still happy, then I doubt being under someone strict for parts of your day will hurt you."

Ace and Luffy agreed with that. It would be a good experience. Then they could show they're not just bubbly and strong, but smart and responsible. "And also, you guys were adopted by Gunhead, so you already know some of the basics outside of class." The twins nodded, saying they'd be glad to meet him.

"After school, then, I'll introduce you!" Ace and Luffy nodded, saying they looked forward to it.

And when school did get out, they went to where they could tell Mirio was, looking forward to meeting somebody new, even if he was strict. Mirio walked them to the train station since the agency was an hour away by train. "So, when did you decide to be heroes? It's a big wish, isn't it? A lot of dedication."

Ace answered for both of them. "When we lived on the streets, no heroes regulated our area, villains came after us all the time for our quirks, other kids came after us for food. We wished a hero would be there, and we wanted to smile. So it only made sense we wanted to be what we wanted to come to us," he said lightly, knowing this person wouldn't share their secret. Somehow, both of them could just tell.

Mirio was quiet. "You two are so happy because you have a new life, aren't you?" Both of them nodded. They were on the train now, speaking quietly.

Luffy added, "We went to school for the first time last year. We crammed elementary school and junior high curriculum in four months instead of six. It was awesome, learning new things and feeling smart. So we continue to go the extra mile and get things done ahead of time. We don't try to be top of the class, that's not our goal."

Ace finished, "We just like being smart. And kind. Luffy's always trying to bring people together. Trying to make class 1-A and class 1-B get along. It works sometimes, well, most times."

Mirio said, "I saw your speech at the sports festival. I was touched! You even spoke encouragingly to all of your opponents."

Luffy laughed and pointed out that they weren't really competing for the first round, just wanted to have fun. "In the second round, we wanted to see if we could get everyone's' headbands. And then the third round we both wanted to make it to the top and take first and second place while having a good fistfight."

Ace nodded, and they would always treasure that experience. "It was crazy that we got 15,000 offers. But we were already planning on going to Thirteen and learning how to rescue people from disasters, which was really helpful during the provisional license exam."

They had reached the building and Mirio told them that Sir Nighteye liked to laugh, so they better have some jokes. Luffy and Ace didn't know any, so they'd have to get by somehow. They wondered what he hadn't told them this earlier. Maybe it was like a pop quiz or something.

The door opened and Mirio grinned, brightly telling Sir Nighteye they were there. They smiled and then Luffy tripped a bit in the doorway. "Oh no," Luffy said darkly. Then they plastered grins on their faces, ones of awkwardness and a bit embarrassment. "I tripped, and we're not making a very good impression already, so can we start over, please?"

Nighteye just barely scoffed, but it wasn't a mean one, like a disbelieving laugh. "Wow, you made him laugh without even trying," Mirio said in awe. Ace and Luffy beamed and walked in further.

"Does that mean you approve of us? If not, we can do other things but jokes. We don't know that many, so we can make some up if necessary." Ace stared at him. "Or not," Luffy added. Mirio asked them to make one up.

"Eh... Where do fish go to pee and poop? The bassroom," Luffy said with a laugh. "That wasn't very funny was it?"

Nighteye said, "You may stop. It was easy for me to approve of you the moment you walked through the door." The twins looked surprised. Nighteye put the newspaper on the desk top that showed their article and photos. "Not only was the article inspiring, but I knew you had a sense of humor and kindness by taping pieces of paper to your backs so you could reach a loved one.

"And Mirio also said you were able to handle him, and I've also watched the sports festival. Luffy easily spoke to the masses and then brought all of your class together with an impromptu speech and showed teamwork in one of the events. Just by that, I think you could blossom into good heroes."

Ace and Luffy were grinning sheepishly. "What are your hero names?"

"I'm FireFist Ace and he's Lu." Mirio curiously asked why Luffy's was so simple and part of his name. So Luffy gave them the reason he'd told the class long ago. Nighteye had a small smile on. Mirio said his hero name was "Lemillion" because he wanted to save a million people.

"Welcome to the Nighteye Agency. I will work you hard and you will have absences." Ace and Luffy nodded. They'd just cut out some work out time and use that to catch up. That day was more of an introduction, and they went home without Mirio, having the route on their phones now.

The next day they got up really early and made their way to Nighteye's quickly. Luffy made a big slide with Ace wrapped around his back tightly even though the slide was hardened so Ace could sit if he wanted. It took twenty minutes by steep slide before they landed right in front of the building, hurrying inside and up the stairs. They bypassed the train completely, going straight to the place.

Ace knocked on the door and was told to enter. Nighteye was surprised they were there so early. "Being early is better than being late. And our way to get here was faster than I anticipated," Luffy said with a grin. "Would you like us to not come early? We could leave school a little later."

"No, being early is fine. While the others aren't here I'll explain more about working here and the expectations." They nodded and put their backpacks down and sat in two chairs that were moved to in front of his desk. He explained the etiquette. Enthusiasm was encouraged as long as it didn't interfere with others' work.

In a couple more days they'd go on their first patrol with Mirio as their agency does a lot of patrolling. "You'll get to interact with people as heroes, which will be important training. Mirio will easily teach you the ropes. You two are young, but I can tell just by your faces that you've had a troubled life."

The twins lost their happy expressions, ones of confusion now on. Nighteye said he was excellent at reading people. "Struggles make people stronger. Going through hard times does not necessarily make you weak. Like with the U.A. training camp disaster." They both nodded. He said he wouldn't tell anyone what he observed of them.

"I'd like to test something. If you don't mind. Something physical." They looked at each other and then nodded. "I'm going to throw things at you and I want to dodge them with your eyes closed. I will know if you are faking or going easy. If you are, then you will look bad in my eyes."

They both swallowed and stood up, closing their eyes. He threw things rapidly at them, and they dodged without bumping into each other. With a big one, Luffy couldn't help reach out and grab it. "Oh. Oops, sorry, I just did it on instinct, I'm sorry," he said worriedly.

Nighteye asked them what their quirks were, and they explained them. It didn't explain how they sensed things coming towards them fast enough to dodge or catch such objects. "I won't press you on information about how you can do those things, but I will keep in mind that you can."

The two nodded and were shown the office and where things were stored so they could do errands if asked. He told them that paperwork was important for heroes as well, especially to be organized.

They both nodded. "Gunhead has a whole filing cabinet in the laundry room that he uses." Nighteye said it was expected of pro-heroes. "Should we start keeping logs of our days so we can practice with logging events as heroes?" Luffy asked, not at all goofy anymore but being serious.

Nighteye didn't seem surprised that they could both be serious and hard working. It was nice. "That is a good idea. Don't put emotions into it, just events. Taking notes of events is also helpful. Show me the logs in three days so I can see if you're making any mistakes. There are two older log books that you may use. And I'd like both of you to do it separately even if you are going to be partner heroes."

They both nodded.

Then they felt people arrive, and looked at one another strangely. Why was Midoriya here? They pretended they hadn't noticed until the door was slammed open by Midoriya. Both of them stood up and they looked at one another. "What are you two doing here?" he asked.

Ace and Luffy looked to their new boss, wondering if they could answer. He nodded, "We started working here yesterday. Are you trying to be here, too?" He nodded dumbly. Then Nighteye came to attention, glaring at the newcomer.

It was like a horror show when Midoriya tried his joke, making his face look like All Might's and said "I am Midoriya Izuku!" He was never good at making people laugh, but he was doing his best.

Ace and Luffy stayed quiet, and Nighteye seemed pissed. "Are you… ridiculing All Might?" he demanded. Ace and Luffy were concerned and it was like watching a train wreck. They were glad they didn't fail the moment they entered the room as well. But, well, they weren't trying to be funny then. They just came across that way, and they already had some points scored before they came.

Luckily.

"What's with that face? What are you trying to do?" Then he and Midoriya got into an All Might super fan competition. Eventually it fizzled out and the twins and Mirio and Bubble Girl, who they'd briefly met, all watched. Nighteye eventually sat down at his desk and talked to Midoriya similarly how he talked to Ace and Luffy about their contracts.

He sounded a lot nicer when he was talking to them. Mirio was right, there was another side to him besides the cruel and cold looking one. But their conversation didn't end well, and he didn't stamp Midoriya's contract, because he didn't feel like doing so. He already had two sidekicks and three interns. So what would he be providing for them that they wouldn't.

Ace and Luffy were worried about their friendship with Midoriya crumbling more if they got the job he wanted only a day before and stole his spot if he'd gone earlier. Plus, they were accepted immediately. It was not going that way with Midoriya.

Nighteye asked what he would contribute to society, how he'd get acknowledged. Why he would make a good hero. Man, it was so lucky Luffy was able to make that small speech. Everyone knew him after that, even if he and Ace hadn't won each game with smiles and laughter.

The two were already known as happy and charismatic heroes that were partners.

Then Nighteye stood up, telling Midoriya he'd be better off proving his worth through action and not words. "You have three minutes. Try and take this seal from me in three minutes or less. If you want to work as a hero under me, then stamp the seal yourself." Midoriya looked shocked. "I'm saying that, even if you don't possess a single funny bone, I'm giving you a chance. Well, don't you think I'm a nice guy?" Then he told the others to go outside.

"Yes, sir!" they all said, and the four of them left the room. They pressed their ears against the wall. They heard him tell them to get away from the door. So they did, and went to sit on a bench in the hallway.

"I hope he gets in. He might be mad at us," Luffy mumbled. Ace leaned back and said if he was a friend, he wouldn't ostracize them for being successful. After all, friends are supposed to encourage one another. "I know, but still."

Mirio asked what they were talking about. "We were all best friends in junior high and then the beginning of high school. But we've been getting more and more distant. There are many reasons, but his reason might be that he doesn't like that we're ahead of him. We can't understand that feeling, but we do feel sorry if he thinks that way. We've always encouraged him and supported him.

"Things just got different when he finally got a quirk. And we're happy he has friends now, since he didn't have any in junior high and we were the only nice ones to him. He doesn't need us around as much anymore," Ace explained, and then looked down. "We feel the same way. Things have changed a lot since the beginning of the school year. We're trying to fix it, but don't know what he thinks of it."

Luffy said, "We don't want to hurt him if he doesn't feel how we think he does."

When they went back, hearing a bang that Mirio and Bubble Girl thought was the end, they were glad to hear Midoriya was accepted. It made the twins breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Like I was with Ace and Luffy, I was planning on accepting from the moment Mirio brought you up. I knew you weren't completely useless. Your merit is quick thinking and dedication. Ace and Luffy's merits are their personalities and strength. We need all sorts of people as heroes. No type of hero is equal."

The twins smiled at hearing themselves praised. They were dedicated, but things came more naturally to them than Midoriya, so maybe he seemed more determined since he had to work a lot harder in different ways than the brothers.

In the end, Midoriya was accepted. Hopefully this could make the three into good friends again. Repair the damage that had been done by multiple things.

Ace and Luffy went home their own way, and Mirio laughed at it. They just rode a giant slide back to campus. They arrived at the dorms first, and told everyone that now all three of them worked with Nighteye. Everyone congratulated them and Midoriya when he finally got back, too. He seemed tired, probably from whatever fight was in the room they were kicked out of.

When they sat on the couch and the others came over, they were all in awe of them. Ace and Luffy refrained from making it sound easy since they sort of got in through recommendations. Midoriya asked how they had gotten in.

Luffy laughed. "It was a failed joke. First I tripped over Ace's foot in the doorway and asked for a restart. I think he found that funny, and we were sort of panicking so I said something stupid and offered to _make_ up a joke since we don't really know any. It was sort of a mess, but he said he was already planning on accepting us for multiple reasons."

Midoriya laughed, seeming glad they had a stressful time, too. "I think Midoriya's was worse, though," Ace commented. "Nighteye was kind of mean to him, he wasn't mean to us. And then they got into a battle. We didn't have to do that."

The others said that they had proved they were strong. Midoroiya had shown he couldn't control his quirk, and hadn't been in the public eye since he started getting better at it. They all agreed with that, as it made sense. "There also wasn't much about his personality shown. But if Nighteye was planning to take him the whole time, why be so cruel?"

The three interns shrugged, not knowing. They asked what part Mirio played. "He came to us at lunch a couple days after the battle against him. At first we had no interest in working for Nighteye since he seemed strict and scary, but then he told us that working under someone strict would be helpful for hero life.

"We already are strong and have good team work, and we took our internship with Thirteen for rescue things," Luffy said. "But that wouldn't make us heroes. We need experience and getting it from an extreme place should be really helpful, shouldn't it?" The others nodded, that they had a good point.

"I always thought you two were ready to be heroes," Sero said with a laugh. Ace and Luffy shook their heads, knowing they had a long way to go. Todoroki and Bakugo were watching, irate with being left out and just mad that those three succeeded and he didn't. Though he wasn't targeting them much anymore.

Uraraka complained that Gunhead didn't have enough interns. She looked to Ace and Luffy and they said he'd had no long term internships that they knew of. "For awhile he didn't really have many people coming to the dojo because he was taking care of us, but that didn't last long and he got back to work soon, once he realized we could look after ourselves fine," the younger twin explained and then got up to make a smoothie for himself.

Ace stayed on the couch. "So, how old were you when he adopted you? Or, took you in," Kaminari asked. Ace answered honestly that he found them when they were twelve. This surprised everybody.

He was glad nobody pushed for more of an explanation as the powerful blender made Luffy his pineapple and strawberry smoothie that everybody else thought was disgusting. Including Ace, the two just didn't mix well to him. To each their own.

Tsu and Kirishima both said their previous teachers didn't take work studies either. Aizawa came up and said that it becomes a problem of who's responsible on the pros side. "Pros who accept students even after knowing the risks are the real thing." Then he told Tokoyami a big time pro had asked for him to work with him.

Then Kirishima was told Amajiki wanted to see him and Hado wanted to see Tsu and Uraraka. They'd see them tomorrow to see what it was about.

"Amajiki, I wonder what he wants with me," Kirishima wondered. Luffy started laughing in the kitchen about his suggestion that he actually used when he was too nervous to say anything. Some of the others chuckled as well. He was the only one that had replied to Mirio's failed joke.

Sero wondered what was up with his joke. "Why would he want to tell us the future is grim and then never explained it?" Ace and Luffy shrugged, since he was a positive guy. Midoriya didn't know either.

Tsu wondered what Hado wanted, and if it had anything to do with his work studies. "It better not or you'll be the special ones who get to work under the big three," Mineta said angrily.

Tokoyami said, "The big three are under the pros. If you get to work under a pro, it has nothing to do with them, right?"

Ashido pointed out that Ace and Luffy had also been asked for specifically. And that Midoirya was recommended as well. So that would make all six of those chosen acknowledged by the big three. The others beside Ace and Luffy drooped. "We all lost against Togata. That was embarrassing."

Luffy was back at the couch with his monster sized smoothie and said, "We were lucky with him. I barely had any time to put a shield up. He would have gotten me pretty badly, as well. Ace would have been fine, he can change his body into fire and negate physical attacks." Everybody nodded. "He's really strong. But I feel like he's like me. Everybody thinks he's stupid because of how bubbly he is when he's actually strong and smart."

Ace nodded, saying he'd come to that conclusion as well.

"Well, in any case, I'm gonna go talk to him right now! I can't wait until tomorrow!" Kirishima said, and Tsu and Uraraka ran after, all those three going to the third year's dorms.

Midoriya turned to Ace and Luffy and asked how long it took them to get to Nighteye's agency. "It took twenty minutes this morning, and twenty two at night."

"What? That's an hour long train ride! How'd you get there so fast?" Kaminari asked. Luffy laughed and said he made a really long slide that just just sat on and easily made their way to the agency. "My powers are good for simple things like that. Those are the most useful, not making body armor or complicated things like that."

Mioriya said, "Your power actually seems really fun to use." Luffy laughed and grinned, agreeing. He loved his quirk. It could do so many things.


	21. Encounter With A Broken Little Girl

Again, the next morning they got up early and made their way to Nighteye's building easily. When they entered, Bubble Girl knew how they got there since the train wasn't supposed to arrive for another thirty minutes. "I made a big, long slide and we just slid our way here," Luffy explained. Nighteye found this entertaining from his look but said nothing.

The two got dressed in their costumes. The nails and spikes didn't go through the thick pockets, so that was lucky. Once Mirio and Midoriya arrived, the four were told they'd be doing surveillance and patrols. They'd split into two groups, broken into threes. Midoriya was with Nighteye and Bubble Girl while Ace and Luffy were with Mirio.

Midoriya looked at Ace and Luffy a bit nervously. He probably wished they were there with him instead of someone he didn't know and a guy who had been mean. Well, maybe he could see now that Nighteye wasn't mean.

It also might be because Nigheye knew that Ace and Luffy would be good in practice and Mirio had apparently told the boss that he wanted to teach Ace and Luffy. Bubble Girl told the newbies that they were spying on a new villain group named the Shie Hassaikai. They hadn't done anything big, but were suspicious and so they were watching them. Nighteye had a bad feeling about them, so they were watching closely.

Chisaki was the leader of the group, the number two that seemed to be doing the organizing, and that he was acting strange. There were also reports that they'd made contact with the League of Villains. Luffy scowled, and Nighteye looked at him.

"I'm fine. I swear that I'm not terrified of them," he said in a strong and firm voice. Nighteye nodded and went back to speaking. The guy, Chisaki, wore a creepy plague mask.

They didn't have any proof of him committing crime, which was why they were gray, not considered a big villain group, but obviously shady, but they couldn't do anything against them with no proof of planned or already committed any wrongdoing. They were after the tail, but were told not to get caught and don't let them suspect anything.

"Yes, sir!" the five of them replied.

Soon Mirio and the twins were walking down streets, getting recognized just by their hair from people about the sports festival. Ace and Luffy grinned and told them that it was a secret, they were heroes now, not just students. "But it makes us happy you enjoyed watching! We sure had a fun time playing. Keep safe!" they would say and turn around.

It was fun and comfortable, interacting with people as heroes for the first time. Not street rats. Mirio said they seemed like naturals at it. "Making people happy makes us happy, too. But we hope there's no problem the first time. And that Midoriya will be alright."

Mirio assured that Midoriya would learn from those two more than him. And that they would be doing most of the work today and watching the target. It's also a show of trust on Midoriya's part. "But four of us would be too big for a normal patrol. Stay with me and I'll teach you a ton of stuff!" and he started moving his arms around really wildly and so Luffy joined in and Ace just sighed, though it was of fondness for his brother.

"Now, we can't let our guard down," Mirio said, stopping his movements suddenly, Luffy as well. "The moment we put on our costumes and step outside, we're heroes, FireFist, Lu." They nodded happily, wearing smiles like they were part of their costume. Well, they were for them.

Luffy and Ace were distracted and didn't feel the child running towards them until she crashed into Luffy's side. He didn't fall but she did. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" Luffy asked. Ace was focusing on the person in front of them walking their way, after the little girl. It was Chisaki. What was he doing there? Why was it them that came across him?

And who was this little girl running from him?

"You look like you need a hug," Luffy said simply. The girl didn't hug him. "How about a hand shake?" he asked patiently. "My name is Lu. I'm sorry I bumped into you, I didn't even see you!" Of course he noticed the bandages. Of course he could pretty much smell the fear coming off of him. "How about this?" he asked, putting his palms lower and facing up. "My brother always did this when I was little," he said. She put her hands on his and then gripped them tightly.

Luffy knew there was a bad person approaching, Ace knew it too. He trusted his brother to defend him while he was in a vulnerable position. "Now you know, Eri. You can't go along causing trouble for heroes." His voice was disgusting and the presence he reeked was foul.

"Eh, your name is Eri? That's a pretty name," he said kindly and she moved closer into his arms, trembling. He put a soft hand on her head, rubbing slightly. He didn't know this situation, he knew they couldn't save her without seeming suspicious to this guy that was their target. "We musn't be frightened," he said softly. "There's always an end to a dark tunnel we sometimes run through. Fear makes the dark so much worse. Loneliness is painful, but someone will always care about you. Sometimes that care will keep you going, right?"

She was looking at him with wide eyes. "I know what it's like to feel fear. But you know what helps combat that? This," he said and pointed to his smile. She had tears in her eyes and grabbed his chest. He felt so bad they had to leave her, but he vowed to himself to help her. Someway he'd come back for her.

He wasn't fooled into thinking they could save everybody at any moment. While he focused on Eri the other two focused on Chisaki. Mirio was doing most of the talking, Ace was recording every single move this man made so they could analyze it later. He thought of it like writing in the log book. Jotting everything down so he could look at it later.

Mirio said they had to get to the lunch shift, and Luffy was going to stand before Eri grabbed him tightly. "D-Don't go," she whimpered.

" _Don't leave us!"_ Luffy's young voice called as their parents drove off, dumping them in an unfamiliar place in the rain.

Luffy grit his teeth, and took her hands, squeezing them tightly with an encouraging smile on. "Remember, fear is your biggest enemy. Don't let it consume you, there's always a brighter day," he said softly. "We have to go now. I hope to see you again some day," he added happily, pressing his thumb into her palm and making circular motions.

He stood up feeling like scum, leaving someone scared, hurt and clearly abused. Chisaki was leaving him and Ace behind. Well, Chisaki would be taken down and this girl would be saved. He was sure of it. Everyone can be saved.

"Eri, come now. I don't want to scold you again and you don't want that either, right?" Chisaki asked, voice still light and fake. He was saying if she didn't come back he'd beat her or something else terrible.

Ace took Luffy's hand and Eri was shaking. Luffy pointed to his smile and her mouth twitched just slightly, but was unable to smile. _We're sorry_ both if them thought.

"That was the best move to do. If we'd pressed anymore, it would have been suspicious. Your kindness hopefully helped her. We'll ask Sir what to do." The two nodded and took hands again. Their smiles weren't so bright, but they still had to be that way. That was their goal as heroes. They won't be able to save everyone, but losing their cool and not making them smile would be a failure as well.

"I'm sorry, Lu. We both know that's what we had to do," Ace said. Luffy nodded, saying he knew that. But he didn't have to like it. "Having this job will be hard. At the very least, we know what failing our first person in need is." He scoffed bitterly. "First person and we have to abandon her." Ace put his arm around his shoulder.

They were both upset, and Mirio said he was sorry that was their first outing. They weren't supposed to run into them and didn't know about Eri. "We could tell he was bad news even before he showed up. Luffy put himself in a vulnerable position knowing I'd protect him. You did your best to help her in the moment."

Luffy nodded, saying all that you can is be your best. "I want to save her when we take down Chisaki. I want to be the one who gets to her. I want to keep my promise that a light will always be at the end of the tunnel. I know that's not true all of the time, but I would rather give false hope than confirm that there was nothing left for them but pain and suffering."

Ace said he felt the same. And Mirio did, too. They didn't know Eri's situation or who she was to him, but she was scared of him and covered in bandages. So she was not in a good situation. Of course not, not when you're so scared you're shaking. When they met up with the other three, Nighteye apologized for not using foresight on them to see what would happen. Midoriya asked if they were okay.

"Yeah, it was just hard. She was really scared, and I tried to help the only way I could, but we couldn't save her." Midoriya asked how he helped her. "I was kind," Luffy replied simply. "It can go a long way for someone who feels hopeless.

Mirio said they'd gotten a little information. That Chisaki had a daughter, or at least claimed Eri was his kid. It was the only good thing about that day. Midoriya asked why they couldn't just save her. Ace and Luffy didn't reply, just silently holding hands. "It would blow our cover. Haste makes waste. You can't save anyone or everyone with just good intentions," Nighteye said. "I'm sorry that your first mission ended up like this. There are plenty of people out there to save."

Ace said, "We know. We're just... not as happy as we were before we left." Luffy nodded.

"There's nothing we can do about it right now, but hopefully I can prove to Eri that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I don't want my words to end up a lie," the younger twin said. Nighteye said that was the best case scenario. He told them to go home for the night. And there was no work day tomorrow. "You're all still students, you won't have work every day of the week."

They nodded and headed back to the agency where they changed out of their hero outfits and put the cases in their backpacks. The walk was silent before Ace and Luffy told Mirio goodbye and climbed up the stairs, even in the rain. This time, Luffy's slide had railings to keep him from falling to the side. It didn't feel like Ace was holding onto him since Luffy was sitting on a solid surface. By the time they got back, both were soaked to the bone. Ace dried them off and then went to their rooms. It was a day with no school, so they hadn't missed anything.

They went straight to bed.

The next day wasn't good for Ace and Luffy. Luffy the most. They just sat at their desk quietly. Hakagure asked what was wrong, how their internship day went. Luffy said, "Couldn't save the first person who needed us. We can't say anything more." The class settled, and they said they were sorry.

"It's fine. It's not over, we'll save her eventually. Let's not talk about it anymore," Luffy said with an air of finality. Ace was sitting with his desk pressed to Luffy's. Ace quietly asked if he was okay. Luffy nodded, said he was upset but it made him determined. "Turn something bad into something good, huh?"

Ace smiled and nodded. "That's a good rule to live by. Let's add that to our list," he said with a bright voice. Luffy nodded, taking a couple calming breaths before the content look returned. They wouldn't abandon her for good. They'd help her and bring down Chisaki, even if it was only child abuse. That was still a disgusting crime.

The day went slowly, but they got a lot done. They asked all of their teachers if there was any work they could complete in advance since they'd be missing school more often. They returned to the dorms with a pile of papers and books.

"The hell?" Kaminari asked. "What's all that?"

Luffy spoke from behind his pile. "Homework." The students inside shouted, "WHAT?!"

"We won't feel good if a bunch of homework piles up on us while doing our work studies, you know. Better to get it done ahead of time than procrastinate. Midoriya, you should be doing this, too," Ace said. They both made their ways to the elevators and up to their room, where they spent the next six hours doing everything they could do before they were both exhausted and the piles were substantially smaller. Then they made logs of the day like Nighteye had shown them how. Then they went to bed, a mess all over the floor of papers and pencils and textbooks.

The next morning, they forgot there was no work to be done that day. "Well, crap," Ace mumbled, looking at the mass of completed homework and classwork. "Man, we got so much done we won't have much left to do, huh, Lu?"

Luffy was on his side, hugging his pillow with a dazed look. Ace asked if he was okay. "Ace looks like a watermelon from right here," he mumbled. Ace blinked twice. How the _hell_ did any part of Ace look like a watermelon?! Then he burst out laughing and smacked Luffy on the head, making him wake up more.

"Hey, why'd you hit me!?"

Ace said, "You told me I looked like a watermelon!"

"Who said that, you don't look like one at all."

" _You_ said that, you moron!" Ace said and both of them erupted in laughter. Despite how stressed they were about the Eri situation, they could still laugh. "C'mon, let's get all this stuff organized. Maybe since we've done all our work we could go visit Gunhead. Since we're going off campus for hero studies, does that mean we can't go off for other reasons?"

Luffy hmmmmed. "I'd like to ask first. I'm not Midoriya and like getting myself in hot water all the time." Ace admitted that was true and they put all of their finished class materials in their backpacks. They still had a lot to do until they were set for the next two weeks worth of class and homework.

They ran down the stairs, feeling bubbly. Maybe today would be a good day. Luffy made a smoothie and Ace made a protein shake to eat on the way, since they wanted to get there early to ask Aizawa when others weren't there and they might interfere with the answer.

When they reached homeroom a lot of others were already there. "What's up? Apparently Luffy thinks I look like a watermelon," Ace said conversationally.

"In my sleep," Luffy grumbled. Ace pointed out his eyes were open. "You're mean," he said. But they were both in good spirits.

"Hey, hey, you two aren't the only ones who have been in the news for good stuff! Look, Tsu and Uraraka got in the news for helping as sidekicks. And Kirishima is super popular, too!" Hagakure cheered. Luffy and Ace put their heavy bags down, and went to look at their phone screens. Luffy grinned, happy for them. Ace was grinning as well, and saw the seething Bakugo. He still didn't have his provisional license.

Luffy gushed, "That's amazing, I'm so happy for you! Maybe now it won't be just me and Ace known in class 1-A. We can all share the popularity." The others grinned and agreed. Ace, Luffy and Midoriya hadn't said anything about their first days. Especially Ace and Luffy. Plus, it was a secret investigation, they couldn't tell anybody.

Aizawa walked in, but there were still a few moments until class started. It was shocking that he was there before and not at the exact time class started. They walked up to him and asked if they were allowed to leave campus to see Gunhead. That's because they'd finished that weeks' worth of work.

"And why did you do this?" he asked. Luffy said they misjudged and had just not wanted to get behind in work. "Turn all your things in here, but stay for homeroom. You are not allowed to leave campus, only for work studies. But I see no issue in you meeting him at the gate, you just can't leave."

Ace and Luffy deflated. "Do you know when we'll be allowed to go home?" Aizawa said he didn't know. They nodded sadly and took out their packets of finished work and put it all on the desk to the side.

"Everyone, calm down," Aizawa said simply. Everyone did, and the classroom was turned silent. Ace and Luffy had done their work for the day, so they got to leave early. They went outside the class and sat on a bench. Luffy gripped the fabric over his knees and clenched his teeth. He felt really bad about Eri. Did she think he thought of her as just some disposable girl? Or did she feel the kindness and encouragement he tried giving her? To tell her to hang on before help comes. He tried to give her strength, but he didn't know if it worked.

It was bad to have the first test be the one it was. It would have been best if he saved a little kid who lost his mom. Instead of an abused child from a villain leader that they couldn't help. "You okay?" Ace asked quietly. Luffy chuckled brokenly.

"I'm okay. I'm not feeling good, but I'm okay. I just hope we find her and help her soon. I feel bad about it. I know it was the right thing to do in the moment, but still, it was wrong to leave her when she needed us. She needed a hero, and she didn't get one," Luffy replied, clenching his hands. He took a deep breath.

"But I can't let the negative feelings overwhelm me or I'm useless at everything else, would make things more inefficient," Luffy said quietly.

Ace leaned his head on Luffy's shoulder. "I didn't expect for it to begin like this," the older said. Luffy nodded in agreement. "But no matter what happens, we do everything together," he said firmly and took Luffy's hands. "Promise?"

"I promise. Why don't we call Gunhead and see if he can meet us at the gate? We can at least talk to him, even if we can't visit home. So they called him on Ace's phone, but got his voicemail. Neither of them were surprised, but a bit disappointed. He skyped with them about the adoption, but it was underwhelming and unsatisfying. So they agreed to postpone it until they could walk in and out of the courthouse together, as a family.

The pro-hero was all for that if the twins wanted it. They had something to look forward to, though they didn't know when that would be at all. The league of villains was still hiding in the shadows, making it unsafe for students to return to normal life. They would be sad to leave their classmates, as it was like having sleepovers with their friends, but they did miss complete privacy.

A quiet and isolated place to practice and spar instead of on the lawn in front of all the windows. They weren't interesting enough to watch anymore, but it still wasn't fun to not have any privacy. And after hours, they couldn't leave their dorm area, so they could go nowhere to practice on their own.

They were sitting by the gate, calling Gunhead periodically so they might be able to catch him at just the right moment. They were surprised to look up and see Midoriya walking over. "Hey," Luffy said with a smile. The other didn't smile back. "What's wrong?"

Midoriya looked down. "Do you not feel anything?"

Ace put his phone in his pocket. "What do you mean?" Ace wondered.

"You're smiling and laughing when some little girl is out there being terrorized by a villain," he said coldly. He looked at them in anger. The twins never thought he would at them like that. He didn't even look at Bakugo like that when he was bullying him.

Luffy scowled. "What, do you think we're happy about what happened? You weren't there. It was us who had to watch her leave into the shadows, knowing full well how powerful and evil Chisaki was."

Midoriya asked, then, "Why are you able to laugh?"

"Are we supposed to wallow in regret every moment of every day? Why are you acting like we're terrible people?" Ace asked in a hurt voice. Midoriya was looking down again, balling his fists. "Haven't the teachers and pro-heroes said it all the time? You can't get overly emotional or it will harm others you will be saving. We want to be good heroes, we want to follow the rules. We know you don't mean to break them and have good intentions, but we don't let our emotions consume us as best as he can."

"I just don't understand it. How you can even pretend to be happy," he said in a quiet but harsh voice.

Luffy asked, "All Might smiles no matter how tragic something is, doesn't he? He smiles to give other people hope. You admire him so much, I don't know how you don't know this." He wasn't trying to be mean. "You're his favorite disciple, aren't you?"

"Don't talk about All Might with me," Midoriya said in an angry voice. Luffy and Ace didn't know what to think about how Midoriya was acting. Why was he so angry at them? "I know he should have chosen someone else, someone better. You're always the better ones, there's always someone better."

Luffy glared. "I thought you wouldn't be one of those to shame us for being diligent and successful."

"How is complimenting 'shaming'? You guys are great at everything, of course people are going to be jealous or compliment you!" Ace and Luffy knew something had happened, he wouldn't usually talk like this. But it was hurting having him treat them so rudely, so harshly. It wasn't who he was.

"Are you jealous?" Ace asked.

"I thought it was Bakugo that I needed to overcome. He was always the stronger one of the two of us. Always. I didn't recognize it until a little while ago. You guys are the ones I have to overcome now, you and everyone else. I'll be the top hero."

Luffy said, "What, so you're gonna ditch us because you don't like we're stronger?! You admire Bakugo and he was terrible to you for years!" Midoriya said that at least he didn't pity him. "You think we're friends out of pity?"

Midoriya said, "It was always like that. You were always the one protecting me. Telling me things that weren't true. You can't be a hero without a quirk! After I got a quirk, you stopped talking to me!"

Ace said it wasn't the quirk that pushed them away. "You lied to us. Multiple times, knowing how much that hurts us."

"I'm not going to tell you everything going on at all times!"

Luffy had angry and hurt tears on his face. "I'm not going to argue with you anymore. If you send us such feelings of animosity, that shows what you really think." He sniffled once before running off. Ace sent him a look of anger.

"You better not let this attitude continue at work. We won't be the ones who get fired if you show emotions like this. Being the number one hero doesn't just mean being the strongest. You should know that," Ace said and then ran after Luffy.

"Lu, wait up!"

-x-

"Luffy, it's dinner time. Don't let him scare us off like this. I'm hurt as well, but we can't let this bring us down. We… We were drifting apart for a while. This was inevitable, I just didn't think it would happen like this." Luffy nodded and wiped his runny nose, throwing the covers off of him.

Luffy said firmly, "We're always the bigger person." Ace nodded, and the two of them left their room, holding hands. Now they wished they weren't so close to Midoriya's room. They passed him in the hallway, not making eye contact. They saw his slouched shoulders.

He asked, "Can we talk again?" quietly.

Ace said, "Not tonight," in a hard voice, and then they walked into the kitchen. They found someone had cooked dinner, a pasta dish that Ace and Luffy hated making but loved to eat. It was awesome once the others started to like to cook meals for everybody. Now they had shifts between meals. It ran pretty smoothly. They also drew slots to see what the majority wanted for dinner.

Gunhead hadn't called them back yet. It worried them and saddened them. Just a little. Did he forget about them? They tried not to think like that. "Hey, do you know what's up with Midoriya?" Kirishima asked.

Luffy said, "We got into an argument that wasn't resolved. We're not gonna talk about it and slander him." The table was shocked, and said they'd never seen Luffy and Ace argue except when Ace was a mess after Luffy's kidnapping. The brothers shrugged their shoulders. "We don't let people walk all over us, even if they're friends."

Everyone was quiet for a bit, the air awkward. But then people started talking again, and Ace and Luffy could be silent without feeling they were being analyzed. They finished dinner earlier than the others and went to bed.

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**Midoriya might seem out of character but this takes place after learning All Might was going to die sometime in the possible near future and that he was not going to be the one chosen to OFA. And then Ace and Luffy were the first people he saw afterwards.**


	22. Meeting And Planning

**Longer chapter this time! Next chapter is exciting I think. Lol I haven't read through this in a while. This chapter was the least fun to write in the entire story. I had to follow two whole episodes worth of dialogue. It was so frustrating and time consuming. To be honest, if you've watched the episode with the meeting between all the heroes about the Overhaul arc, you can skip through some of this. Enjoy~**

* * *

There was a knock on their door at 10:30. Ace sighed and turned over, putting his pillow over his ear. He knew it was Midoriya, but he didn't care right now. They didn't know he'd say such hurtful things, never knew he felt that way. He had been angry, but surely there was some truth in there. They weren't just insults said, but more emotional things.

Had he always felt he was living in their shadows? That's why they tried so hard not to do. Why they kept their quirks a secret for so long. Was their friendship broken? Ace and Luffy would always have each other. Midoriya got along with everyone else pretty well, everyone got along besides Bakugo, though he had gotten slightly better. But none of them were with him when he was a target.

Maybe that was the problem. They no longer needed to protect him. He could resent him for that, but who cares, Ace wanted to sleep.

In the morning, all of the work study students were leaving at the same time, all having got a message to go to Nighteye's residence. Midoriya looked at them both and was about to say something when Ace got on Luffy's back and he climbed up high and sat on the slide. They made their way through the city, over neighborhoods, streets, the train, until they reached Nighteye's.

"Hey, hey, what's that like? Can you float?" Hado asked. Ace and Luffy found the big three were there as well. They were waiting outside of the door, but they walked right in, there was no sign telling them to wait outside. When they entered, they saw there were tons of heroes. Ace and Luffy were nervous, and linked pinkies.

A hero who they didn't recognize walked over them and looked to Luffy, who was smiling constantly, hiding the nerves. "I really like the article about you in the paper. You were very honest. Honest people make good heroes. Both of you, I'm sure, will make great heroes," he said. The twins both smiled and blushed a little bit.

A few others smiled in Luffy and Ace's direction. They were only being themselves and so many small things had just made them look good. It was nice. Better than getting good grades because it wasn't their study skills or memory, but their personality and talent they'd worked hard on a lot.

Both of them didn't want to stand around and wait, so they went to the wall and Luffy made a block and they sat down. Ace didn't like doing this, but Luffy was using haki that made it solid for others besides himself. People didn't look too much as they'd seen Luffy's power at the sports festival while he ran in the air and used it as a slide.

"Ace, what do we do about Midoriya?" Luffy asked quietly.

Ace said, "I don't know. I'm still hurt that he took out whatever was bothering him on us. We were supposed to be best friends. Maybe not best anymore, but friends. You don't talk that way to your friends, we've done nothing that warrants him treating that way. We have never made him feel weak, always pushing him to do his best, be determined." His gaze fell. "Honestly, maybe it's best that we aren't friends anymore. Maybe we can become acquaintances so it won't make everything awkward."

Luffy nodded. "Let's not talk about it anymore." Ace nodded. When the door opened again, it was the other students. Seven of them, those they'd seen leaving UA and the big three who'd been waiting outside. Kirishima walked over to them and said, "Man, it took us over an hour to get here. And you just slid the whole way." Ace and Luffy grinned.

"One of the perks of my quirks," he said. Kirishima asked if he could sit and Luffy extended the floating plane that they could sit on. They waited a few more minutes, the girls going to Ryukyu, the dragon hero, and Midoirya standing a bit awkwardly with Mirio. And the upperclassman clearly noticed something going wrong.

But the meeting got started before anyone could say anything, the heroes all talking about what Ace and Luffy assumed was the Shie Hassaikai story based on how it had only gotten really started a few days back, on their first patrol. They were right, as the organization's name was said not ten seconds later.

Once everyone was there, Nighteye began, Bubble Girl standing beside him in front of the screen. He thanked everyone for their information and said that because of that, the investigation had moved forward substantially. Information about the Shie Hassaikai and what they were planning.

The heroes and students all headed next door into a room Ace and Luffy hadn't seen used, a meeting room with a huge table. They all sat around the rectangular table, the students sitting on one side. Ace and Luffy sat next to each other between Mirio on the left and the end of the table on their right. They were furthest from the front, but also less likely to be stared or glared at. It was understandable that some of those in the room didn't feel like the kids should be there.

Bubble Girl started the meeting first, "Those of us from the Nighteye agency have been conducting an independent investigation into the designated villain group, Shie Hassaikai for about two weeks."

Someone asked, "What prompted this?"

"An accident involving a gang of thieves called the Reservoir Dogs. The police wrote it off as an accident, but there was a number of points that didn't make sense, so we began tailing them." Next was the sidekick Ace hadn't seen much, Centipeder.

The second sidekick explained that he did a follow up investigation for that reason and found that the members of Shie Hassaikai had increased their contact with those outside their organization with smaller groups that also did shady business. Centipeder said, "They're moving with the aim of expanding their organization and increasing their funds. And soon after beginning the investigation, he was in contact with a member of the league of villains."

The group had been very successful in getting the public's attention. Ace and Luffy hated the League of Villains for personal but similar reasons. They hated them because Ace was furious about Luffy's torture, and Luffy was angry about how said torture hurt Ace so badly. They wished they'd be taken out already. They heard their stupid club's name so many times it was irritating.

Centipeder continued about the man that Chisaki had contact with that they knew of, "Jin Bubaigawara, villain name: Twice. They were wary of being tailed, and I was unable to follow them. Even though they were wary, with the help of the police, I was able to confirm that an altercation occurred between the two organizations."

Gran Torino then spoke. "Since the League was involved, they also reached out to Tsukauchi and me." Tsukauchi was one of the heads of the police and also All Might's friend, since they'd seen him together more than once. Gran Torino was asked why the guy wasn't there, and was answered that there were other eyewitness reports he had to look into. He wasn't there so he could work on other parts of the investigation. Then he addressed Midoriya, "Kid, I didn't think it would end up like this," the old hero said. That's right, he first interned under Gran Torino, which is how he'd improved suddenly. "I'm afraid I've pulled you into something troublesome."

Ace and Luffy wished he would have just given a "I don't blame you" instead of making a lengthy description to the others and Mirio about how Gran Torino was his first mentor. They didn't notice the not-so-nice looks that were sent their way for having a small conversation in the middle of a large meeting, but Luffy and Ace did, and were holding hands under the table, clenching them in anxiety that Midoriya would make them all look bad. After Midoriya was done talking, everyone was thoroughly irritated. Nighteyes asked Bubble Girl to continue.

"So after this all happened, we put out a request for help on the HN-"

"You can skip that part," Centipeder said. Then Hado and the other two girls were talking, pissing off a dark-skinned hero with a yellow mask around his eyes like Luffy and Ace's were. His name was Rock Lock, and his quirk was sort of like Luffy's where objects could be the the air and stay there with his ability to lock objects in place.

It wasn't as versatile as Luffy's since he could create things. But Rock Lock was irritated.

He asked, "Even if they're from U.A., why are there kids here?" Luffy, Ace and Amajiki were the ones to stay silent. Ace and Luffy knew they were the lowest notch of this meeting, which meant you should speak when you are spoken to. Amajiki might be just because he was shy and quiet anyways. "We'll never get anywhere with them here."

The others looked upset or angry while Luffy and Ace stayed silent and just observed. "The sun will set before we get to the actual plan."

But Fat Gum stood and defended them. "That's not true! These two have important information!'' Then he looked around. Seemed like a cheery guy. "Anyway, I think I'm meet'in a lot of you for the first time, so I'm Fat Gum! Nice to meet you."

Nighteye was not happy with all of the interruptions, it was easy to tell. An angry Nighteye was not pleasant for anybody in the vicinity. "We suspect one of Hassaikai's main sources of income is from unauthorized drugs. So I requested help from heroes who are well-versed in those matters."

Fat Gum was angry, and said, "I crushed tons of guys like that back in the day! And then Red Riot's debut fight the other day… a type I'd never seen before was shot into Tamaki. A drug that destroys quirks."

Everyone, of course, freaked out. Even if they didn't shout, it was clear everybody was alarmed.

But Amajiki said he was fine after he slept when Mirio loudly asked if he was alright. Rock Lock said, "I feel better knowing that you can recover from it. So it's not gone for good?" Ace thought that they should all assume that it was permanent, and not fall into a safe sense of security. They could be tested and trialed easily and improved. They should be as warned as possible. As least, in Ace's opinion. Luffy felt the same but was mostly feeling sorry for anyone who lost their quirk like All Might had. Though his was worse since he was already so sick.

Nighteye responded, "No. We will hear from Eraser Head on that matter." The focus of the table turned to Eraser Head, who looked exhausted, as per usual. He looked unconcerned.

He started immediately. "It seems to be a little different from my Eraser since I don't attack the quirk itself directly." He explained how his power worked briefly and then finished with, "I can stop it from working temporarily but cannot directly inflict damage on the quirks." Fat Gum was up again, and said that Amajiki had had the hospital look at him after being shot, and that his quirk genes were damaged. But thankfully, they healed on their own.

Nighteye asked another question, and Ace was wondering how many had known what to say before the meeting, if anyone. Nobody was asking many questions. But nobody had been asked. But they were pro-heroes right? Shouldn't they be asking questions? Ace and Luffy always asked questions, but didn't feel any warranted enough to be stared at.

It was a bit overwhelming being around so many pro-heroes, even if they weren't focused on the twins at all. Maybe they forgot about them since they were so quiet and at the back of the table. Good choice to sit there, it seemed.

"What about the analysis of what was shot into him?" Fat Gum replied that there was no damage to the rest of his body, but only the quirk. The man who used it wasn't saying anything either.

"The gun's in pieces, and the only bullet we had was the one that got shot!" he said angrily. "But thanks to Kirishima's brave actions that lead to one bouncin' off his body, we were able to get one still filled with the drug! After analyzing' the contents, we discovered somethin' that made me sick. Human blood and cells were inside!"

While the others were disgusted, Ace and Luffy were getting a bad feeling, not knowing why. They're hands tightened.

Ryukyu said, "So that effect came from a person… someone's quirk? A quirk that destroys quirks…"

"I'm not following this. What does this have to do with Hassaikai?"

Fat Gum replied that, "The guy Kirishima caught and the illegal drug he used! The distribution channels for things like that are complex. It's gotten a lot smaller these days, but various people and organizations sell them wholesale until they finally reach the end user. There's no proof that the Hassaiaki handled the goods, but they didn't interact with one of the intermediaries."

Nighteye said, "The other day, Ryukyu's team broke up a fight between two villain groups. Controlling one of the groups was the intermediary dealer organization." This segwayed into the dragon hero speaking.

"One of the two that turned giant had been given an inferior drug that didn't last long." Someone who had a mask or helmet on spoke, but Ace had no idea who'd said it. "There have been a rash of gang-related crimes recently, and most can be connected to the Hassaikai if you tried hard enough."

"It sounds like you're trying really hard to make the Hassaikai guilty. Don't you have something that implicates them more obviously?" Then a photo of Chisaki appeared on the screen, and Ace and Luffy hated seeing him again. Wishing they could have just taken him out and rescued Eri on the spot. The rational side of both of them knew that was the absolutely right thing to do at that moment, but the human side of them hated it. Hated that they couldn't save her and actually give her hope.

"The young head, Chisaki's quirk is Overhaul. His power lets him disassemble and restore things. Disassemble, a quirk that lets him break things and then fix them. A terrible power indeed," Nighteye said, making eye contact with Ace.

Luffy was startled out of his thoughts by this. What if he did that to Eri? If she misbehaved, she would be punished and then restored just fine! He shared a look with Ace, and he nodded, understanding this as well. Why Luffy would make that kind of face after that statement. The face of guilt and horror. Why else would he feel guilty about this information?

Nighteye continued though he had to have noticed his interns' demeanors and auras. "Chisaki has a daughter named Eri. There are no records or details about her birth, but when Mirio, Ace and Luffy encountered her, she had a large amount of bandages around her arms and legs."

"Don't tell me something so horrific," Ryukyu said quietly.

Gran Torino sighed and said, "It's a society of superhumans. If you can dream it you can do it." Kirishima expressed confusion, and Rock Lock rudely said, "Are you sure we need the kids? I'll say this only once. We're wondering if this Chisaki bastard is turning his daughter's body into bullets and selling them." The girls and Kirishima gasped in horror.

"We don't know if he's actually selling the bullets," Nighteye said. "At their current stage, their efficiency is still too uncertain." Ace slowly raised his hand. "Yes?"

Everyone looked his way. "If they are being passed out to people, should we assume the smaller thugs like the ones that attacked Amajiki have worse quality than the ones the Shie Hassaikai holds close? If Chisaki were smart, he would keep the most effective ones close. Should we assume the ones they use are permanent? After all, the one we have didn't work as much as it could."

"If this quirk erasing power was used from her blood, would they just need to edit the potency of the blood?" Luffy asked next.

The others nodded, agreeing that that was probably accurate, if Chisaki was involved at all, which they still weren't sure of. They didn't know for sure that Eri was being used, but still. "If that isn't true, and they are not fully completed, if they are in the test stage, and he's using them as samples to gather more to his cause. There is no hard evidence. But he's gathered people and funds from across the nation. If the completed drug would be able to completely destroy someone's quirk… I'm sure they'll have many ideas for crimes using this."

Rock Lock, now the twins' least favorite hero in there, blamed it all on the three who'd met them personally. Nighteye stood up for them and said he took full responsibility for what had happened. "Please do not blame them. Even though they didn't know the full story, they acted to save the girl."

All three were unable to make eye contact with anybody, eyes shadowed and dull as they looked down at their connected hands. "They wanted to save her badly, but chose to bear the risk of taking her then, and act when the odds were better. They didn't tell the whole story." He looked at them sadly. "The ones most frustrated right now are these three."

Ace sat with his face in his hand while Mirio and Luffy stood up and said, "We'll definitely take Eri next time! And protect her!" Ace hadn't stood, but he nodded into his hand.

"We'll save her and make up for this," Ace swore firmly, even if he wasn't standing or the one to yell.

Nighteye said, "That's right. That is our goal." All three were determined to make up for their huge mistake.

Rock Lock couldn't redeem himself in Ace and Luffy's eyes the more he spoke and the more his bad attitude was put on display. The more he belittled people who could possibly help. "It's fine for the kids to show off, but if it's what we think, that girl's the crux the young head will want to hide, right?"

Ace and Luffy would be able to recognize Chisaki from a distance. It was easy, his presence was like the smell of sewage and almost the thickness of sludge. It was a heavy presence, and so incredibly easy to identify and recognize.

"She got out because of some kind of trouble. On top of that, some new heroes saw her! You think he'll just keep her at home? I wouldn't if I were him." Ace and Luffy nodded silently, agreeing. The guy would keep her someplace safe and hard to find or get to. Hard for anybody to find that didn't have haki. They would find him. They'd find him and then take Eri. Good thing was that since he was with Eri all the time, they would find her if they found him. "Even if we push our way in, it won't matter if she isn't there. Have you already identified where she is?"

Nighteye looked at Ace and Luffy expecting something. Did he know about their haki? Ace and Luffy looked at one another. They would be able to help find Eri with their haki. What would they say? They couldn't say it. They couldn't. Everyone would know. They just couldn't. Maybe they could tell Nighteye and they'd be put in the front.

"But it's a big issue. Since we don't know how far their plans have gotten, we have one chance to strike when it counts," Nighteye said. "To that end, we have found groups with connections to the Hassaikai, or land owned by the Hassaikai and made it as thorough as possible. I would like you all to investigate each place and narrow the list down to possible locations."

One of the heroes pointed out that they, smaller heroes, were only there because they worked closely to those locations. It was convenient. They didn't sound very upset, so that was good. Nighteye was strategic by using heroes who knew where to go. The twins still didn't know who took over their hell hole of a part of town.

Fat Gum grew angry. "For someone who was All Might's former sidekick, you sure are careful. We're going about this too round about! While we're takin' our time, that little girl, Eri, is probably cryin'!" All three who met her winced and Luffy bit his lip, hard.

Nighteye replied calmly, of course, with, "We cannot all become All Might." They made All Might too big. There were plenty of other charismatic heroes. They liked and admired All Might, he had been very strong. But putting him on such an insane pedestal… was that the wrong choice?

All Might was a human as well. He got injured and sick. His body grew weaker over time, he aged. He wasn't immortal or invincible. People shouldn't think anybody was.

"That is why we must put together our analysis and predictions and try to make the possibility of saving her as close to 100% as we can."

Fat Gum was still visibly mad when Gran Tornio commented, "We can't rush. If we make a big fuss about this and then don't get her, this could be kindling for something bigger. Like how Stain's capture became an ad for the league. In fact, that might have been the intent behind distributing quirk- destroying weapons for those hoodlums!" Fat Gum accused him of thinking too much.

This hero was very emotional. He was a leader, he should have a clearer head, and be calmer. They were upset, too. But being overly emotional when things go wrong wouldn't do you any good. Gunhead told them that the moment they said they wanted to be heroes. And their teachers told them that, too. Midoriya hadn't learned or understood that and so he took his anger and unrest out on fellow heroes. You couldn't do that in the hero world, where teamwork is a must.

"If you keep sayin' stuff like that, you won't be able to do anythin'!" Eraser Head then raised his hand and asked if he could ask a question. When he got permission, he asked why Sir Nighteye couldn't just use his foresight, seeing someone's future for an hour, on everyone and see how the mission would go.

"I… cannot do that," he spat out, sounding guilty. "My foresight requires a 24 hour interval between activations. In other words, I can only use it on one person for one hour for each day." He explained that he could see the individual's life from their perspective and all he could see was what they did and their surroundings

Eraser Head was confused and said that his foresight should give them more than enough information and then questioned why that was a problem, many others thinking that as well and nodding. It was powerful, but like all quirks, there was always a weakness. They could overcome the weakness a bit, but no one had a perfect quirk.

Nighteye looked upset and troubled, clenching his hands on the table. "What if in that person's near future, death… just a merciless death was waiting…" he paused but didn't finish that train of thought. "My quirk should be used only after we have already drawn out the highest probability of success, where it can be used to ensure our victory. It shouldn't be used so haphazardly when there are still so many uncertainties."

"What?!" Rock Lock shouted, surprising Luffy and Ace. He was suddenly very loud. Liek Fat Gum only he wasn't determined but angry. Fat Gum got upset because he felt they weren't doing enough for the poor little girl. Rock Lock was just angry because he didn't like what he was hearing. "But death is information, too! We could put together a plan to avoid it!" Nighteye said it wasn't the same as fortune telling. "I have never had a prediction that did not come to fruition. There has never been a situation where the outcome I see changes."

Rock Lock was still angry and making a fuss, "Nighteye, I don't get it! Fine, use it on me! I'll show you I can avoid it!"

"No," Nighteye said harshly, not making eye contact. He looked very troubled, and the twins knew that he must have seen something deeply troubling. Maybe he was scared to use it again like that. Maybe that was his biggest weakness. The pro-hero didn't elaborate, and was stared at awkwardly by everyone until Ryukyu saved the day and said, "Anyway, let's do this. There's a girl in trouble. That's the most important thing."

Nighteye stood up, his troubled face gone and replaced with commanding determination, and said, "Confirm the girl's whereabouts and take her into our protection with the most accurate information we can get as quickly as possible." Everyone stood after nighteye did. "I'm counting on all of your help."

After that, all of the students were sitting at a table outside of the room but still in the building. Ace and Luffy were resting their faces and upper body on the table, miserable. They said nothing. Mirio was the one to say something, also looking at the table with his hands clenched. "If we had taken her back then… then she would be safe. She wouldn't be so scared and alone."

Ace pointed out, "We didn't know his power. He would have killed us. And… and he can fix things right? I don't want to say or think it, it's so terrible. He could have hurt her and taken her back so she couldn't fight anymore." He looked up, eyes puffy but not teary, and said, "We could have just made it worse for her."

Luffy sniffled and said, "We'll save her this time. I'll show her that I was telling the truth and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel." He looked at his hands. "We can't be emotional, we have to be determined. I'm not saying this cause I'm heartless. Being calm makes things easier? Being emotional can cloud your vision, right?"

The others nodded, besides Midoriya who had said nothing. Maybe he realized that Ace and Luffy were having a hard time, too. And that maybe it was a mistake to blow up on them like he had. They didn't want to talk to him yet, not even if it was for him to apologize.

Things… may have gone too far. The lies were one thing, but what he said to them made them feel he didn't know who they were at all. Maybe he wasn't paying attention all this time. But they didn't want to think about it and make them more miserable.

Kirishima said, "I didn't know that happened. I'm sorry. It's so frustrating." Ace and Luffy nodded.

Luffy looked up and said, "We can only hope for a better tomorrow. They'll find her soon, and when they do, we'll be ready. I'm going to be one of the ones in the front. So will Ace and Mirio. It's our fault this happened, we have to be the ones to fix it."

Tsu pointed out that Eri only knew what they looked like, what kind of people they were. Anyone else she wouldn't know and would scare her. And who knows how her power worked if she really was the one supplying the blood to make the drug.

Ace nudged Luffy and said they had to talk to Nighteye about something. Luffy nodded, and they said they'd be back. The others nodded, wondering what they were going to say. They found him with Gran Torino standing in a room with a wall of windows. They looked over and Ace asked if they could talk to Nighteye.

Gran Tornio said his goodbyes. "What is it?"

Ace and Luffy grasped hands, hoping this wasn't a huge mistake. But they'd do anything to save the little girl they'd failed so badly. "We can help. When the right place is found, we can help find Eri and Chisaki." Nighteye asked what they meant. Luffy bit his lip and Ace explained. "The way we knew where you were coming to get us even with our eyes closed. It's been there as long as we can remember. We named it haki. Right now, we can tell where everybody is in about a half a mile radius. We will know where Chisaki is because we know what he feels like to be around."

Nighteye was looking at them calculatingly. "I can see why you don't want this information spread. Is there anything else you can do? I will tell no one as of now." Ace and Luffy nodded and coated their arms in armament haki. He looked surprised since this one was clearly visible.

Luffy looked down. "When I was being tortured, this showed up when Shigaraki was going to decay my arm when I wasn't making any reaction to the pain. It nullified his and the others' quirks. I wasn't burnt by fire. And when we were practicing our ultimate moves before the provisional license exam, using haki on our quirks made them stronger. I was able to form solid shields and objects that I couldn't before."

Ace said, "We don't know where it came from or why we have it, but it could be really useful. If quirks really don't work on us, then maybe we could sustain an attack by Chisaki. We won't risk it, of course not, unless we have to." Luffy said that if they could nullify quirks, they could handle the one that Eri had. If she didn't know how to control it since she was so young.

Nighteye thought for a moment. "I can also see you two wish to save her." Luffy told him that he had to keep his promise. "Very well, you will be in the front with Mirio. You two are strong enough already even without this haki, but it will be very helpful."

Luffy asked him to keep it secret. The only others who knew were Gunhead, All Might and Midoriya. He promised he wouldn't tell anyone without their permission. Then he sighed. "I am sorry your first step into the hero business ended up like this."

Ace and Luffy smiled, though they were a bit strained. "Mirio said experience is power. But we'd rather the experience not be this. _But,_ regardless of how hard it is, we will help and be there." Nighteye thanked them and the two asked for one more thing. Paperwork and notes about anything regarding the situation. They were given that and put it into their backpacks and then two left.

When they got back, Aizawa was where they were heading. "Aizawa sensei," Luffy said. He looked behind them and said that he was going to talk to all of them. They nodded and hurried in front of him to sit down. There were no seats at the table, so they sat on a plane Luffy made for them, looking like they were floating in the air.

"Is this a wake or something?" when they all looked so sad. His students said his name in surprise besides the twins. "Call me Eraser Head out of school. But man, I was going to recommend that your work internships be suspended today." The students of 1-A were shocked, and asked why now. "You heard them say the League of Villains could be involved, right? That changes things." His eyes slid to Luffy. He was meaning Luffy in general.

Luffy said, "I'm not a kid. I'm angry at what they did to me and put Ace through, but I'm not going to go off on a revenge mission on them. I've moved past it, I want to be a hero even if it means coming face to face with my captors again." His voice was firm, making no room for argument. Aizawa sighed but didn't seem surprised.

He turned to Midoriya, crouching now. "But you know, Midoriya, you still haven't regained my trust yet." Ace and Luffy assumed it was both him going off to save Bakugo on their own and then he and Bakugo sneaking out to fight late at night. "Unfortunately, I'm sure that if I stop you now, you'll rush out again on your own. So I'll watch you. If you're going to do this, do this properly, Midoriya. Got that, problem child?"

Midoriya had tears in his eyes. "Ace and Luffy, keep one another safe and do your best," he said in a flat voice. They both smiled and nodded.

Amajiki told Mirio to raise his head, and Hado said nothing will come of him being sad and regretful. He nodded and sniffled.

Aizawa said, "I'll say this to give you some peace of mind. The hand you missed grabbing onto did not necessarily mean despair for Eri. Face forward." The class got determined and smiled, swearing they'd save Eri. Mirio stood up and firmly said, "We'll definitely save her next time, Ace, Luffy."

Ace grinned and Luffy said, "Make our wrong, right." The table agreed.

"That being said, you students, apart from the big three, who are at least as strong as the pros, the rest of you probably won't have big parts to play," Aizawa said. Nobody but the twins noticed the flick of his eyes to them. They didn't understand what it meant, so they just acted like they didn't notice it. "Uraraka, Asui, Kirishima. You three aren't here of your own volition... What would you like to do?"

Uraraka spoke up first. "Eraser head! After hearing that, I can't say I'm not going to help!"

"If you aren't going to say we can't do it, then I would like to help!" Tsu said, firmer than they'd heard her for a while. Amajiki spoke next.

"Since the heroes had you participate in the meeting, I think they have recognized you first years' abilities." Then he said that Kirishima, who was a first year, had shined more brightly than he had. Nobody really seemed to pay attention to what he said, which might be why he didn't talk much, did people usually interrupt or ignore him?

Kirishima loudly exclaimed he was going to use his power to help that little girl as best as he could. Aizawa nodded. "It's fine as long as you understand. Our goal this time is only to rescue the girl, Eri. We won't step in further than that." He said that both the police and Nighteye thought that the League of Villains was not involved in this incident this time. And that the chances of them showing up this time was low.

"But in case they're wrong, and the League ends up being involved, then you guys are out." The first years agreed to this term.

"We're going back, ahead," Luffy said. "See you later." The others nodded except for Midoriya, who looked miserable. They climbed very high and slid away. Both of them knew they looked weird and stupid, but it was incredibly convenient. They didn't want to pay or waste time for the train. And plus, this one was environmental friendly. Ace pointed that out and Luffy had laughed.

They weren't going super fast, so they could talk while on their way. "What do you think of Midoriya? What should we do?" Ace asked sadly. Luffy was quiet for a bit.

He finally said, "I don't know. I guess we can hear him out and then decide later? There's no excuse for the things he said to us. But there had to be a reason. And if he acts like he wants us to lower ourselves so he can be at the same level, then it's over. Friends are supposed to raise each other up, which was what we have always done for him. But he acted like he didn't like that we were good at stuff we tried hard with."

Ace nodded, arms and legs wrapped around his twin's back, just in case he fell. He didn't want to risk that even if he'd be fine landing as fire or Luffy could create something they would be caught on.

When they got back, they had no homework to do and so they brought out the papers and studied them how they studied everything else, though they went overboard. They wrote notes, rewrote sections of the paperwork. They looked up every name mentioned and dug through the internet for any information.

There were a few reports of some of the people involved with other crimes, but they were minor. Still good resources as it went into detail about how their quirks were used in that situation.

After hours and hours, they had a list of who they thought were the most powerful and troublesome, and drew them on paper over and over until their memories were committed. They didn't just go for the faces, since they might wear some face covering. So they looked up height and weight, measuring any full body photos and finding out just how tall they were.

It was too bad they hadn't met them before and could distinguish their presences. Damn. It was three hours after returning that a knock on the door was made. Unsurprisingly, it was Midoriya. Ace sighed and stood up from the floor to open the door. "What is it?" he asked, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice. Luffy was shuffling the papers around, putting them in different piles for different people, having a printer in their room for essays and such. It was small and crappy, but it worked when they needed it.

"Can I talk to you both?" Luffy said yes and Ace opened the door before closing it behind him. "What are you doing?"

"Studying," Luffy said simply. "For the mission," he elaborated. "What do you want to talk about." Luffy was on the bed and Ace was standing against the wall with the window and balcony.

Midoriya looked down. "I'm sorry for all the terrible things I said to you. I was upset about something else. All Might is really, really sick. He said he was gonna die soon." The twins' faces fell, but it didn't explain the things he said to them.

"Then why did you get mad at us about stuff? I thought we were friends," Luffy said quietly, not trying to mask the hurt in his voice. "We've been with you through everything, encouraged you and yet you got mad at us for being good at things we work hard on."

The green haired bit his lip. "I am your friend. All Might said something to Bakugo and me. Bakugo was mad that I'm improving when he's always been at the top. It doesn't apply the exact same with us, but he said a person starting a level one can't improve the way a person at level 50 can."

Ace and Luffy didn't see how that applied to them. "For so long you guys have been my inspiration. I didn't know I felt bad about it. I felt like you were just pitying me by being friends with me, but I was wrong. I was feeling so inferior. All Might will be mad at me for saying this, but I have to be honest.

"There was already someone who was a candidate to get All Might's All For One power. Togata Mirio was supposed to be his successor. But he chose me at the last minute. And then, when I had that fight with Nighteye, he told me I wasn't fit to be the successor, Mirio was better and that he wouldn't acknowledge me. I wasn't deserving to be the disciple."

Ace and Luffy felt bad for him about that. But what he'd said and done still hurt. They didn't really know what to say. "That's why you have to work hard. But do you really think we're heartless? That we weren't upset about Eri?" Ace asked.

Midoriya looked up. "You two are the kindest people I've ever met. I just didn't understand how you could not let your emotions eat you up like they do with me. I was so wrong to say those things to do. I didn't mean them. They had an underlying reason that shouldn't be a big deal and I had no right to target you as my problems. Please, can we still be friends?"

Ace and Luffy looked at each other, knowing their answers were the same. Luffy said, "I don't think we'll ever be friends like how we were. I think that ship has sailed away. But we don't want to hate you or anything. Besides, you have lots of friends, now. You don't need us." Midoriya was crying, looking so ashamed.

"They don't know who I was, though. They only know the me with a quirk," he pointed out desperately.

Ace said, "You aren't that person anymore. We know you're ashamed of how timid and weak you were. Why do you want anyone to know about that? You're surrounded by people who like you, and Bakugo seems to have scaled back the bullying on all of us."

He was looking down, tears running down his face. Ace said, "You have to feel it, too. We've grown distant since we came here. For probably multiple reasons for all of us. But the other night was just… it was too much. You made Luffy cry, and I'm having a hard time coming to terms with that. I'm usually so forgiving, you know we try to be. But you hurt my brother, and looked like you meant to. I can't forgive that easily," he finished sadly.

Luffy was looking away. "We're not enemies. Okay? We don't hate you or anything like that. We just need to take a step back for a while. We'll see where it goes from here. And we can't let this interfere with our work."

Midoriya wiped his eyes and nodded. "I'll be better, I'll prove that I still want to be your friend. And I won't ever make you cry again," he promised. Ace nodded and Midoriya left, going to his room and closing the door.

Luffy was crying into his pillow. Ace sat down and rubbed his back. "We'll be okay. We have each other and lots of other people now." Luffy nodded, knowing that was true. And also knowing that the best friend time had passed a while ago. Just not formally, like it was now. Ace felt relieved. He felt free of thinking he'd done something wrong to push Midoriya away.

Luffy immediately called Gunhead to tell him what had happened. Not about anything other than their relationship with Midoriya. He cried into the phone while Ace stayed mostly silent. " _You made the best choice for you. You may be heroes, but sometimes your health needs to be first, boys. Your mental health. You're strong, but you're still humans, still teenagers._

" _Sometimes friends drift apart when they age or the situation changes."_

Ace finally said, "I think that being close all the time in the dorms helped ruin things. We got barely any time apart. He was always hearing how great we were. That he was the unofficial weak one of the group. I don't think anyone else saw it that way. I don't know if he saw it that way, but still."

" _I'm so sorry,"_ Gunhead said kindly. Luffy said he wished they could go home. Could go home and be by themselves. Be home and see Gunhead and tell him about their day in the car. Why couldn't Luffy have not gotten kidnapped?

But he knew it wasn't fully his fault. The League attacked not just for him. And he didn't make them attack or ask them to come and ruin things. They talked for a bit before they got dinner. Midoriya wasn't in there, hadn't come for dinner.

Kirishima asked if they knew where he was. "Don't go talk to him right now," Ace said simply. Uraraka and Tsu looked worried. She commented that they'd all looked miserable at the meeting, and wouldn't look at one another.

Luffy debated whether to say anything, but it would be better than everyone pestering the three about what had happened. "Some unpleasant things needed to happen. At least for the present. Too many things piled up behind the scenes and we had to take a step back for awhile."

Luffy picked at his food, but grudgingly ate it, knowing they needed to be well fed if the mission came at any time soon. "You guys aren't friends anymore?" Kirishima asked.

Ace replied, "Not best friends anymore. We want to be acquaintances, at most. We're heroes, we want to be heroes, but sometimes we need to do things to protect ourselves. You can't put others before you for every single thing. Please don't bring it up or feel pity for any of us."

The three nodded sadly. "We've been studying about the mission. Got some paperwork from Nighteye if you guys want to look at it." They said they'd have a study session about it the next day. And that they had a plan to get more important information. They didn't say what it would be.

The next couple of days were stressful. They were all on standby, unable to talk about it in front of others or tell anybody else. They were all distracted, but still got things done. Ace and Luffy were glad they got their things done ahead of time since the other four were always distant and distracted. In the morning, they left the dorm nervous, with a plan that could get them in big trouble, but would no doubt help. They wouldn't tell anybody about that part. If it worked and they got away with it.

Things… things were better after they came to terms with Midoriya and finally voiced what they were thinking and feeling. Surprisingly, Midoriya was taking it okay. At least, in front of everyone else. They were still classmates and roommates, they couldn't avoid each other forever, but they didn't go out of their way to hang out or talk. And the twins realized that this might be the best conditions after a break up. Still around, not hostile and not alone together.

Midoriya had support from others, and nobody took sides at all after hearing that the three had a falling out. Nobody defended one side against the other, since the three hadn't said anything more about it to anyone else.

Midoriya had been a mess the next day with puffy and baggy eyes, but that dissipated when he seemed to realize he had more friends than Ace and Luffy. It was good for him. The two didn't want to be close to him anymore, but they didn't hate or want him to feel miserable all the time.

For once, they didn't feel bad for making somebody unhappy. Gunhead was right, they did that for their own mental well being. And it was paying off.

Even with Midoriya officially not being good friends with the twins, the six of them did do the study sessions, even though Kirishima found how in depth they were irritating. Everyone else was all for studying appearances and not just the face. Students pestered them about what they were all hiding together. And what they were doing in Ace and Luffy's room after dinner and before bed. And some noticed that they were all more stressed after they went to the internships.

Ace and Luffy refused to lie, and just said they weren't allowed to talk about it. They were the only two to answer that way while the others pretended nothing was going on. Of course Ace and Luffy's admission that _something_ was going on made the others' lies void. After that, the others didn't pester them, not wanting to get them in trouble.

"How did you get them to leave us alone?" Tsu asked one night.

"Told them the truth. We're not allowed to talk about it. That's not a lie, and made everything clear enough for them not to pester us anymore," Luffy said honestly. Ace nodded.

Uraraka said, "Do you guys always tell the truth?" Luffy grinned and said they did it as often as possible. "Wow. But, why? Aren't there things you don't want to talk about?"

Ace said, "Of course. We have things other people don't know, but we're open about it. I mean they are secrets, I guess, but we don't keep them secret… I'm having trouble explaining this," he laughed.

Asui said, "You mean that you are open about the fact that not everyone knows everything about them." Ace said that was it.

"It's been three days," Midorya suddenly said. "How long will this take?" The others frowned, agreeing that it was taking too long. And they weren't going to their work studies while the investigation was ongoing. They were just left to wait.

Ace pointed out that there were a lot of places to watch for a long period of time. And the heroes needed to sleep and eat. And once the place is found, they need to make plans. It would take a couple days at least. They might still have what felt like forever to wait. It was the most Ace had replied to Midoriya in three days.

"The raid will probably take much less time than the actual planning. It'll go by fast, we have to be ready and waiting for things to go wrong," Luffy said. Then he frowned. "I've been thinking of a plan, and I don't know if it would work. You know how Chisaki and destroy and then rebuild things?" They nodded. "Is it possible for him to destroy himself and we're fast enough to stop him from rebuilding?"

The others said they weren't sure. Luffy said, "I'm planning way too far ahead, but a thought keeps coming back. Once we find Chisaki and hopefully Eri, what if Ace gets to blow off his arm. Then we can restrain the other and we won't be able to use his powers again. Or his leg, bad enough to distract him with the pain and then we can put him out of commission."

Kirishima asked, "What are you talking about? We can't get close to him."

Ace said, "You can't. I can. My body is made of flames. You can't destroy flames. Luffy has the outline of a plan, but it would need exactly the right circumstances to happen. If I pretend to be vulnerable, he can attempt to destroy my arm. Right when he's about to make contact, I can turn my arm into flames to get out of the way and move _his_ arm fast enough that he blows his own leg off."

"But time would be everything as he could just rebuild it. Someone would need to restrain or even kill him in time," Luffy said. They were stared at. "What?"

Krishima said he just didn't understand how they seemed to know what the other was thinking. "I mean, you barely spoke about something and then Ace filled the rest of it in." Luffy said it wasn't strange to them. They were together all the time everywhere, so of course they knew what the other was thinking by looks.

Uraraka and Midoriya both said they wished they weren't only children. They concluded that night with a full meal and studying just a little. Aizwaw lightened their load for now, which they were grateful for.

One day later, the dorm was asleep when both Ace and Luffy's phones went off, Luffy's vibrating while Ace's rang an obnoxious song that he only used to anonoy Luffy. They jumped out of bed. The texts read "The mission starts tomorrow."

They ran out of their room and found the four others. All of them had some form of bedhead and tired eyes. It was one in the morning after all. "Did you guys get the message, too?" Luffy asked, a little unnecessarily. They nodded.

"Tomorrow," Kirishima said strongly. "We gotta get back to sleep and be well rested. And eat breakfast tomorrow. And we have to shower and-"

Ace said, "Calm down. We don't need to shower for a rescue mission. But I agree that we need to sleep and eat." Then he made an uncomfortable laugh. "If we can get back to sleep." The others nodded and wished one another good luck sleeping.


	23. Shie Hassaikai Raid Part 1

**Anime_Moon00: Aw, that was so sweet, I'm so happy my stories make you so happy! I'm glad you're back, too! though I'm not angry or anything that you were gone for a bit. Thank you for commenting! You're the only one who's commenting nowadays. Even on ff.net, the reviews have stopped. :( But I'm glad I have your very detailed and long comments. <3 <3 <3**

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Ace and Luffy were able to fall asleep when holding hands, something they'd done at home when they couldn't sleep after just getting there. Still being scared of everything. And it worked. They got up early and dressed before hurrying to breakfast to eat as much as they could. The other four were as well, all of them looking obnoxious. Kirishima and Luffy got terrible hiccups from it.

Then they got in their hero costumes and made their way to the Nighteye agency. The first years attempted something that looked dangerous in retrospect. They all were on Luffy's slide. Uraraka lightened Ace and Kirishima to hold onto Luffy in his lap and off his back. Then Tsu wrapped her tongue around Luffy's middle and Uraraka made herself and Midoriya weightless to be carried by Tsu.

They landed there and were all shaking, except Luffy, who was trying to not laugh. "We're never, _ever_ doing that again," Kirishima said forcefully. The other nodded. Luffy said it wasn't too bad, but they counted out his opinion. They all exchanged firm nods before they headed inside, where many heroes were already.

They all went out of the way and sat on an air bench while heroes gathered. The big three called all of them and they said that they'd gone on ahead and to leave without them. Mirio had asked how, and Luffy explained. " _That was so stupid."_

"Yeah, we're not doing it again," Ace replied.

After all had gathered, Nighteye gave the bad news that Eri was being held at the stronghold, the official residence of the Shie Hassaikai. Some were angry or worried. Rock Lock was one of the angry ones. He was more immature than the high school students who were quietly and patiently waiting for the rest of the information. To him, all of the information they'd gathered was for nothing.

"No, we were able to get new information as well," Nighteye replied. Fat Gum questioned how he was able to confirm the correct location. Sir Nighteye, a strict man, pulled out a little girl's toy, which were some sparkly dolls. "A member of the Shie Hassaikai went to a store and bought this the other day." Fat Gum insisted that it wasn't only for little girls, guys could like that stuff, too. If the situation weren't so grim and dire, the twins would have thought the interaction was funny.

But now, they were not smiling at all. They were holding gloved hands tightly, worried and nervous. But determined. They had a feeling things would not go to plan. That was what they and their friends prepared for. For the worst to happen so they wouldn't be surprised. Luffy glanced at the others, who were all looking tense. Luffy took Tsu's hand beside him and squeezed slightly. She visibly relaxed. Slowly, all of the class 1-A students gripped hands before letting go, feeling more calmed afterwards.

It was scary, but they were going together, not alone or with only strangers. They would probably be separated in some way, but they'd have each other to come back to and share what happened.

Nighteye had touched the suspect at the department store who was clearly not buying for his own interest, and saw the man make his way to Eri, now knowing where to go to get to Eri. Well, where her room was. She wouldn't be in her room, things wouldn't go that easily.

Ace and Luffy had positive mindsets and liked to look forward to things, but they weren't blind when somethings are useless or even dangerous to go in a happy light. They need to be taken seriously. It was how the world works. Someone who is happy and go lucky in every situation is not fit to do anything that involves the risk of other peoples' safety or health.

Rock Lock shouted that Nighteye had used his foresight after all. "I believe I said I would use it once we narrowed it down so we could be sure." He was handling the other pro-hero's attitude well. They knew if either of them, Midoriya or Mirio were this disrespectful they'd be at least scolded. But he was dealing with it just fine.

Ace could tell the other students didn't like him either. Many of them had light disapproval or dislike of him.

"Anyways, so this means it's been decided, right?" Fat Gum asked. Centipeder said they know for sure thanks to lengthy stakeouts. They also got a police warrant to search the place, just as a formality so they could get in, hopefully with not much resistance. Of course they'd resist, but this was procedure. They couldn't barge in with no warrant or that would be against the law.

"So, all that's left is to get there!" Fat Gum said loudly.

Mirio walked to Midoriya, clearly able to see that he was the most uncomfortable and started waving his arms around like he had on patrol when Luffy copied him. "Let's do this! We're gonna do it!"

Ace and Luffy smiled, seeing he was back to normal. He'd been so down every time they saw him. And he never wanted to talk, so they couldn't try and help him out. Now he was back to normal. But after he put his helmet on, which he was carrying, he'd be back in serious mode. But it also was making others watch. Ace and Luffy felt they should all be trying to look professional, but Luffy grinned and Ace smiled.

This time, Luffy did not copy the moves. Uraraka walked to them and asked, "Holding hands was really calming, I can totally see why you guys do it." They nodded and Ace went to talk to Nighteye. Before he said a thing, the pro-hero said, "I told no one. We will arrange so that you are close to the front. But I will not tell anyone about that plan until we're there. Eraser Head would pull you out immediately if he knew that plan."

Ace nodded. "We did our homework, all of the first years have memorized names, quirks and past actions if recorded, as well as height and weight. We also know the kinds of shoes they wear out in public. We won't know who they are by faces if they have masks, but we've memorized those so much we are able to draw by memory. I-if that helps at all," he finished weakly. Nighteye smiled.

"That may indeed be life saving. Good job. And good job helping your fellow heroes relax." Ace blushed and nodded, hurrying back to Luffy and the others.

They headed to the police station, which wasn't too far. They were surprised when the police just _now_ gave out information. Did Nighteye not give any to anybody else? This meant that those six were the experts. They all exchanged glances, but took the papers anyways.

Well, a good refresher right before the big test. "These are incomplete, but usable," Kirishima said. Mirio asked, "What do you mean?"

Tsu put one finger up and said, "Nemoto Shin: one of the eight bullets who can make you tell the truth. Height is 6'1, he is fit. Setsuno Toya: one of the eight bullets who uses larceny, and can steal any object from someone into his own hand. Distance is harder for him. Height is 5'11. He is skinny-"

Everyone was looking at her, and she looked uncertain. "We did our homework."

"Homework?" Ryukyu asked.

Luffy said, "We studied up on all of them, what kind of people they are, what they look like, how tall, how heavy, past incidents if there have been any, family history, and we memorized their faces well enough to draw them without reference… W-We like being prepared," he added awkwardly.

Aizawa said, "FireFist and Lu are overzealous when it comes to grades, studying and homework. I didn't expect you to go so far, though." Ace and Luffy looked at the ground, not knowing if they were being complimented or mocked.

Rock Lock demanded to know why they had information that no one else did. "I gave them as much information as I had at the time, which was a rough outline of suspects. They did the rest on their own. They had no duties, so I gave them what information they had," Nighteye explained.

Ace didn't mention the fact he'd gone into the dark web on a school computer to get this information, though. He and Luffy had learned some basic "computer skills" during summer break before starting at UA. Nobody needed to know that. No one but he and Luffy did. Luffy had emailed a virus to Ace's disposable email account and they opened it on that desktop. It had broken the computer and would need to be replaced, leaving no evidence of what had been done on it. They didn't know if they'd get expelled for it.

Midoriya and Kirishima were talking about perhaps catching the villain league as well as Chisaki, when Aizawa stopped them and said he would be working with Nighteye's agency. Meaning that was how he'd be watching over Midoriya. Man, he'd really done a number on his trust and credibility of their homeroom teacher.

The police chief spoke again, saying that things might get violent, and to take care of any scent of resistance or suspicious behavior, take care of it _immediately_. "Don't let your guard down and carry out your respective tasks." He and the others saluted. "We will commence the operation at 8:30! All hands move out!"

When they got to the house, they were gathered in a massive group outside the gate. The full body suits were good for Ace and Luffy so they were each covered from toes to upper neck in armament haki. And they'd trained enough with it to know it could last seven hours and they would only get tired on the sixth. It made their quirks stronger and their bodies faster. There was no downside to armament haki.

Rock Lock and Fat Gum were arguing before the crowd was instantly behind a wall Luffy put up the moment he felt something coming at them. Something big. It made the huge fist bounce back since it was impossible to move a section once it's been made. To everyone else, it looked like some forcefield was up.

"Katsukame Rikiya! Quirk: vitality stealing! He'll steal your stamina and use it as power for himself!" He was still holding the shield. "Do something!" Luffy shouted when the wall was punched, though it made no dent. Finally, the heroes and police got into action, and Luffy took the wall down.

"Are you okay?" Ace asked. Luffy nodded, and then grinned, saying he made the first move.

"What do you want? So early in the morning?" the villain asked casually. Wow, it was good to memorize their appearance and respective body images. He had a mask on, not that Ace or Luffy saw it going any other way. They would be stupid not to wear masks as villains. Ryukyu stopped his next damaging hit by using her quirk and turning into a dragon. She yelled that her agency would take care of this one, and the others ran forward.

Rock Lock demanded to know how Luffy knew he was coming. Luffy didn't respond, focused on the mission. He and Ace were sprinting with their shoulders touching. They didn't want to separate, but if it happened, it would not be how it usually was. They would not prioritize being together over the mission. They had to believe the other could protect themselves. And they did.

Of course, the thugs didn't care when a warrant was held up and fought back. Three tackled them and the others ran forward, Ace and Luffy at the front, going in the direction Nighteye had said and standing in front of the little decorative shrine that held a secret entrance to the underground.

Nighteye was about to press the button. "There are people behind the door waiting," Ace said.

"Be careful there might be people waiting! Be ready to fight!" and he pressed the button, opening the door. Three men popped out, and they were overtaken by Bubble Girl and Centipeder easily, the rest rushing down. The moment they turned left, they saw a wall. Mirio didn't even need to look for them, and Ace and Luffy rushed forward, Ace melted a huge hole in the middle so everyone could fit through the slim stone. "Let's go!" Ace said and everyone hurried forward. Rock Lock looked at them suspiciously. He was unnecessarily bitter. He didn't seem to trust anyone else, as one obviously fake wall had made him accuse Nighteye of lying.

But they were students and this was kind of their debut. They would not make a step out of place or make themselves look bad. They both closed their eyes, and searched the surprisingly and concerningly large maze of the underground. There were a handful of enemies, but they found Chisaki easily, leisurely walking down a hall with someone else carrying the small presence that would be hard to find on its own. Children, young children, were always harder to pinpoint or recognize.

Nighteye asked if they knew where he was. "Below and with Eri and one other, leaving leisurely, so they aren't concerned."

Then both Ace and Luffy stopped. There was a presence inside the wall. Easy to identify. "Irinaka Joi! He can merge with objects and control and manipulate them! He's inside the wall!" Ace couldn't find him yet, he wasn't in that area. The walls became wonky and started to twist and turn. Luffy created a block and stood on it, now unaffected by the wall and floor changing. Ace climbed on next to him.

The police leader for the mission shouted, "He's gone into the concrete that makes up the underground! And it's turned into a living maze!"

"But it's too big scale! He shouldn't be able to enter and control objects bigger than a refrigerator!" Rock Lock spat out.

"If you gets a big enough boost, it's not impossible, right?" Fat Gum asked. "I was bein' careful about what he'd turn into." Everyone was stumbling around and trying to find balance besides the two on the air block. Both could feel the underground had changed as the corridor was warped becoming completely unrecognizable. It was strange for them to just stand there while everyone else was stumbling.

"I'll go ahead and see if there's another way out closely!" Mirio shouted before going on, running through the wall in his way.

Ace and Luffy looked up. He was in the ceiling. "Nighteye, do we have permission to act?" Ace asked.

"Yes! I trust you!" Luffy and Ace nodded and Ace got on his shoulders while he walked up a few steps. Ace put his hands on the wall and let out enough heat to melt the ceiling into nothing, before Iranaka acted immediately and a hole opened up below them, dropping everyone down besides Ace and Luffy still on the block. A burnt man fell from the ceiling, unconscious and covered in third degree burns. Ace walked to him and broke both of his arms and legs so he couldn't get back into the wall.

It didn't fix the corridor, though, they had to get through another way. And there was no way to get everybody back up as the hole in the floor was closed. Ace and Luffy were quiet for a moment. "Wait, Mirio!" they shouted and ran after him, burning through the walls. The floor was way too thick to burn through enough for people to come through within the next thirty minutes. And they didn't have time for that.

They ran along the halls, burning through the obstacles meant to impede them. They followed Mirio's presence until they were back in the normal hallway. He was there, and asked them where everyone else was.

"They all fell to the floor below through a big hole. We took care of the wall guy, so we're safe from him. What do we do now?" Ace asked. Mirio looked troubled and said they would just have to look for Chisaki alone. There was nothing to do about it. Ace and Luffy nodded, glad they managed to stay together.

"We can find Chisaki. We know where he is," Ace said as he and Luffy ran in one direction. Mirio asked how. A good question.

Ace settled with, "We can sense things around us without normal senses. They're far from here we'll have to run for a while." Mirio accepted that and the three ran for a couple minutes before they both stopped and threw out their arms to stop Mirio at the entrance of a new hall.

Luffy scowled, knowing who these enemies were. League of Villains bad guys. He heard the woman one complaining. She wasn't happy with how things were going there. Seemed they were employed by the Shie Hassaikai. The other one was the guy with a mask who had acted like he had split personality disorder.

He kept them still until they passed far from them. "Who was it?" Mirio asked quietly. Luffy looked at him darkly.

"Two from the League of Villains. Not two especially dangerous ones. And Aizawa doesn't know. They were wrong, and we have no way to tell them," Luffy said. The other twos' eyes widened. Ace unconsciously reached for Luffy. "Please don't worry. I'm not scared of them." Ace nodded, and Mirio had a grim face on.

"Let's continue," he said quietly. They ran for a lot more time, turning down corridors. Ace and Luffy looked worried. They only had two pairs of ear plugs. They stopped, knowing most of the rest of the enemies were not far.

Luffy turned to him. "Mirio, the rest of the bad guys including Chisaki and Eri are close. We only have two pairs of ear plugs, since one of them can make you say the truth if you hear him ask." Ace decided and handed Mirio the ear plugs. "Ace, are you sure?"

He nodded. "Your power is more important and intricate than mine is. And Mirio shouldn't talk about the weakness of his powers, either. I have no real weakness besides a time limit." Luffy argued about their advantage of Chisaki not knowing Ace can be intangible. He gave Luffy a small smile. "That was just a passing thought. It's not a major part of our mission. Just take him out before he asks many questions." Luffy nodded.

"The other two, one can cause a sense of disequilibrium. I'll be the one at that advantage since I'll be glued to my air blocks. Do what you can to stay upright until I take one out or try and get him to stop. We're not aiming to kill, right?" Luffy asked. The other two nodded.

Ace sighed. "Chisaki is there. Be prepared to move fast." They all checked their extra padding that was mandated for any costumes that could handle them. Padding so that it was less likely one of the bullets could poke into your skin. The suits were tighter for everybody, but it was a necessary precaution. "No monologuing. Okay? Don't let them get us emotional, and just do the mission, even if it's silent."

Mirio asked if they had a plan in action. "Since you're here, too, the plan is for me to take Eri and escape with my quirk. You and Ace will fight until we can get away and then run. I don't know if we're strong enough to take him in, but we must rescue Eri."

They all nodded, and Luffy and Mirio put their ear plugs in. Ace hugged Luffy and they all nodded, and came running into the hallway. There they were. Two enemies, then Chisaki, his bodyguard and Eri. Hopefully this would go smoothly and they could get out fast.


	24. Mistakes and Successes

**Anime_Moon00: Thank you! I'm so happy to have your comments. And the only ones nowadays. :( You'll find out about Mirio in this one. Finally at the climax of the rescue mission. Nothing is similar to how it was in cannon lol. Some dark parts, though. And I'm not evil for cliffhangers, or there are a lot of evil writers out there!**

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**Warning: graphic depictions of death, as well as trauma. Enjoy~**

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They ran into the hallway, Ace the only one able to hear. Immediately the feeling of being sick and dizzy came. Luffy was on his own steps that moved with him so he wasn't hindered by losing his footing on the floor. Luffy climbed his steps to the ceiling, where the drunken Sakaki Deidoro was.

They didn't expect him to be drunk even if he had a history of DUIs, according to his records. Luffy heard nothing he said as he kicked his leg up and into his chest, flipped and slammed him down on the ground. It broke his mask and Luffy chopped the back of his neck with a haki covered hand in a move that would have him out for at least two hours.

Suddenly, the other two were just fine. But Nemoto Shin was already speaking to Ace. "How did you get here so fast?" It was a wasted question, and he noticed Mirio and Luffy had ear plugs in. Ace shot fire at him quickly, but he dodged.

"We defeated your wall guy and snuck around," Ace answered, not even trying to fight it since he knew he couldn't. He demanded what his power was, but Mirio punched him in the face, breaking the mask and then Luffy brought his metal knee guard up and yanked the guy's now uncovered face down, breaking his nose against the metal and knocking him out from the overwhelming pain.

The two of them took their ear plugs out and the three advanced slowly. Luffy gave Eri the blinding smile, a true one. "We've come for Eri and we're not leaving without her," Luffy said, voice full of hope for Eri but disgust for Chisaki. It was an interesting mix that actually worked out.

A gun was pulled on them, but they weren't nervous. Ace hadn't given away Luffy's quirk, they didn't know about the invisible air shield separating them from the three. The extra put Eri down, who Chisaki held on to. The poor girl looked lost, not knowing whether to be happy or upset.

They were baited, but the three of them didn't join the conversation. They stayed silent, and then they were shot at, but the bullets crumpled against the invincible shield. Luffy walked forward and put his hand out of the safety wall, blasting air at the hand with the gun. Ace was there in record time, kicking Kurono Hari in the neck. It made him choke and collapse, and Ace kicked a haki covered boot right into his left temple. That would give him a concussion at least and brain death at most. Just depending on how well Ace's kick was aimed.

Chisaki looked angry right now, furious and frightened. Luffy and Ace ran forward and Mirio disappeared from sight, coming up behind chisaki to take Eri. Chiski was in a bind. Whether to take Eri or fight back. One or the other but not both. Luffy landed a hit on Chisaki's mask, breaking it. Then he was pissed and his presence became stronger and scarier.

"If you're not gonna talk, then I'll just take care of you right now!" He grabbed Luffy's leg, but he had a strong armor of air on. The gloves were off and he was holding onto the invisible armor, which splintered apart from his power to destroy it.

"Ace!" Luffy shouted.

"Right! Got it!" his twin replied. Luffy stopped his next attack, whimpering.

"His power got my ankle!" Luffy lied, eyes full of fear. Ace had a hand reaching out and then looked behind like he was distracted. It fooled even Mirio, who shouted Ace's name. Chisaki grabbed onto his arm, he was too slow. His arm was going to be blown to bits, but it was covered in haki and when Chisaki attempted to destroy it, his own hand and arm took the impact, blowing it to pieces and spraying blood all over Ace.

Luffy stood up and rushed forward, pinning Chisaki's head with an air wall as he screamed. But his other hands was there and grabbed the floor. Spikes came out of the stone, but Luffy had made a floor for them that the spikes didn't break.

"How did you do that!? My powers can't be defeated by some kid!" he screamed, his face looking like it was growing pimples or blisters. He had said he wasn't fond of filth, maybe he had a medical condition.

Ace didn't answer. Luffy was quickly passed Eri. The hall was now a room with broken stone everywhere, cracks on the walls and flooded with Chisaki's blood on it. Luffy said, "Did I promise there was a light at the end of the long, scary tunnel?" She was crying, and flinched when Chisaki screamed. Luffy put the ear plugs in her hand. "You don't need to hear his voice ever again. We're escaping. Okay?"

She was sobbing but nodded and put the ear plugs in. "Go all out! He shouted and Ace shot hot air through the ceiling that burnt through floor after floor until they were outside, Luffy running up his steps like no tomorrow. Eri looked scared when they were outside and not on anything solid. He got them higher and higher until they couldn't be reached by anything, and then made a longplate. He sat down and pulled her to his chest, pulling the ear plugs out.

"I'm sorry we left you," he said simply. But then she started to glow, and Luffy felt weak before his whole body was encased by haki. "Is that your power?" he asked. She nodded, and said she was scared and couldn't control it. "I'm fine, see? I have a power that bypasses quirks. That's what my brother did just now."

Golden air was coming from her single horn. Nothing affected Luffy and his quirk wasn't either as he had managed to cover every millimeter of that air block with haki.

He took both of her hands like he had the first time, and put his thumbs in their palms. "You can't control your power right _now._ But just think of what you did. You went through such horrible things, and now you're free. I think that going through what you have makes you stronger than many, many pro-heroes. They can't compete with you. Going through that is nothing compared to reeling in your quirk."

He put a hand on her head. "You're free now. You can cry as much as you want and no one will shame you," Luffy said firmly. She erupted into tears, her power getting stronger before it ebbed away and she was just a little girl sobbing in Luffy's lap, face against his chest. He rubbed her head and hair.

Luffy wasn't a good singer, but he hummed the first song he and Ace had heard after being rescued on the street. It was actually a good choice, even if he didn't remember the lyrics. He kept her focus all on her while his haki focused all on his brother and Mirio. He wouldn't go down until Chisaki was defeated.

"Eri! GET BACK HERE!" Chisaki screamed. "You're a curse, you're going to kill them all!" he roared as he had more and more spots on his face. Mirio held his ear plugs.

"Manipulation won't work anymore on her," he said firmly. He had unfortunately fixed his hand through it seemed to be unable to be used at the moment. Chiskai was driven into a corner. He seemed afraid of Ace, though. Now that his power was useless against him, and Ace was clearly stronger and fitter, he had no way to fight back besides make the floor into spikes and unstable.

He covered himself head to toe in armament haki, extending it to his head and face. None of the spikes of stone hurt him, they bounced back or were crushed by the superior haki. All of the spikes went through Mirio's body.

Ace noticed Chisaki kept looking to the side, as the body was the man unconscious that Ace kicked in the side of the head. And there was the little case that no doubt held the real powerful anti-quirk serum.

He walked towards it. "Don't you dare!" Chisaki said, distracted long enough for Mirio to take advantage of. He got the villain in the knee, kicking it in. He screamed but healed it in an instant. He was running out of options. The only real chance he had was if he could destroy their quirks, but the gun had been crushed and he had no way to get to the bullets.

Ace held up his hand, and he flinched. Chisaki was powerful and confident when he had the upper hand. Now that none of his attacks worked on Ace, and he had no other weapons, and nothing to merge with, he was hopeless and possibly afraid. He was never in danger. He had his overwhelming quirk along with body guards of all sorts.

Those body guards were gone and his quirk nullified. Ace picked up the case and flipped the lid. He turned his hand on fire and burned it into nothing, not a single piece of that case or anything of it was left. "NO!" he roared.

"Make it easy for yourself and give up. Your reign of terror is over, Overhaul. You've been completely defeated. If you don't give up, then we're gonna have to make you."

"No, give Eri back! Right now!" he roared and tried to grab Ace, though this time, he did what Luffy originally planned, who he could sense in the air high above. The moment before his hand gripped Ace's, he turned it into fire, and instead of pushing that hand down to destroy his leg, he pushed it up, not even meaning to, and it hit his chest, blowing his chest and upper body into splatters of blood and guts. His lower half was fine.

Ace recoiled, and started to shake before he turned to the side and threw up. Mirio was there in an instant, kneeling in the blood splattered all over the wall. He hugged Ace as he shook. "It wasn't you that killed him. It was his own power. This is not what was planned, I'm so sorry, Ace," he said, rocking Ace back and forth as he retched again.

They were both covered in blood. "L-Luffy! I need to see Luffy!" Ace sobbed. Mirio said he'd be back, and took his cape, wrapping it around his front to hide the blood.

Mirio called Luffy's name, and the twin seemed to have calmed things with Eri down. She was crying in his chest, her powers no longer out of control. He made the long walk down the air stairs and on the surface. Mirio was able to climb up the remains of the spikes of stone and told Luffy to cover Eri's eyes.

Luffy took off his mask and tied it backwards around Eri's eyes. "I'm going to leave you to Mirio, okay? He was the one with us when we couldn't save you. Ace needs me, but you'll be safe." She protested. "I will be back, and you are safe with Mirio. He's smart! He's the reason I was able to come."

And he dropped down to see the mess of what happened. He hurried to Ace, who was sobbing. "What happened here?" he asked, wiping the blood off of Ace's face. He cried into Luffy's chest.

"It was an accident! I did the move you talked about but I messed up! His hand didn't go down, it went up. He blew himself apart because of me," Ace sobbed. Luffy rocked him back and forth.

Luffy said quietly, "This isn't the first time, Ace. We've both been there. Please don't let this destroy you. Chisaki… he killed so many people, ruined so many lives. We stopped that, you stopped that for good, even if it was never part of the plan." He rubbed Ace's back. "You did not pull the trigger, Chisaki did. It was his mistake."

Both he and Ace knew he wasn't heartless, but it was the truth. "Nobody will see you as the killer, Ace. And you shouldn't either. If my words don't help, think of yourself. Are you happy?"

"N-No," he whimpered.

"Did you mean to have this happen?"

"No…"

"Would you do the same if you had a second chance?" Ace shook his head vehemently. Luffy pressed his forehead to Ace's. "You're not evil or a villain," he whispered. "Now, Eri will be safe forever. She won't need to be in fear that Chisaki will break out and come to get her. There's no more monster for her."

Ace was still crying, gripping the back of Luffy's costume. "I love you Lu, I'm sorry!"

"I love you too, big bro. I thought you were the older one who needed to comfort me," he said lightly.

Ace grumbled, "I am the big brother. I'm allowed to cry."

Luffy said, "Yes, you are. You're allowed to cry, you're allowed to have regrets. You're _not_ allowed to hate yourself, understand?" Ace smiled a watery smile and nodded, saying he promised.

"Now we're both messed up," Ace said quietly. Luffy knew what he meant. Luffy had been tortured and Ace was an accidental murderer. They were both messed up. Not counting the accident at USJ. They'd successfully moved past that one, hopefully this one would as well.

But this one was done by Ace's own hand, not a stray bomb from a bad aim. They'd get through it together, how they always did.

"We're messed up together, and we'll get back to normal together. The three of us took Eri back and defeated Chisaki and all of his goons. I think we deserve some hot chocolate." Ace laughed and nodded. "Let's go find a bathroom and rinse you off. How's that sound?" They both stood up and Ace nodded, shaky on his feet.

"Mirio! I'm going to get him rinsed off, we'll be back in a few. Eri! Wait for me, okay?" He heard a small, "O-okay…"

He and Ace walked to the nearest bathroom, which was broken as the wall guy had messed up the piping through the whole building. The water was still coming out of the shower head and filling the room. A bunch of water had spilled out and onto the floor. Luffy punched the mirror so Ace wouldn't see himself, and put Ace in the shower under the nozzle, helping rub the blood out of his hair and clothes.

The blood was fresh, so it rinsed off fine. He then dried himself with fire. "Wanna go see Eri? She gets to meet her saviors." Ace nodded, holding onto Luffy's arm tightly. His lower lip wobbled a bit, and they bypassed the bloody room and did their first tactic ever in practice. They made holes in the ceilings to get back to the top floor.

"Eri, this is Ace. He's my twin brother and best friend." Ace smiled brightly.

"I'm so glad we got to you in time," he sighed. All three of them were sitting on the concrete on the broken street. Nobody was around yet, which was good. They needed time to react and recuperate.

"Did… did you kill Chisaki?" she asked, though she didn't sound afraid of him or upset. More uncertain.

Ace looked down. "I did. It was an accident. His power was used against him-" and Eri was hugging him, crying again. Mirio said he was going to get the police attention and make sure it was safe to move Eri or if any bad guys were still around.

"You don't hate me?" Ace asked. He was afraid that they'd saved her only for her to be terrified of him. She shook her head against his chest. He put his hand on her head and Luffy's was on her back.

"He would always come get me… Anywhere I go, he'd find me," she said, shaking. "He was always there, when I slept, he was always there. He was everywhere." She was clearly traumatized from what had been happening, and it was no shock. Her body was continuously "donating" blood without her consent into terrible drugs.

Luffy said, "It's not the best outcome, but he'll never come after you again. And if he was still alive, we'd still never lose you to him again." He sat next to Ace. "If you ever lose control of your quirk like before, it's safe to be around Ace. We're safe, okay?"

Ace asked what he meant. "She can't control her quirk well, and if she uses it around anyone too long, they rewind in time. They'll lose their quirk and then slowly age younger and younger. But when I was covered in haki, myself and my quirk were unaffected."

The older twin said he understood and told Eri they were tough and super cool, so of course they'd be fine with her powers. "I don't understand how." Ace grinned and said they didn't either.

Luffy took his glove off and showed her his haki covered hand, which was like warm, moldable metal. "I was taken by bad guys once, too. They tortured me for four days until I was rescued. But, while I was being hurt, and was about to be killed, this happened. It covered my whole body and it kept me safe."

Eri looked shocked and horrified at hearing Luffy had been tortured. He said he was fine now, and answered it had been a couple months since it happened. "You are okay only after a couple months?" she asked in bafflement.

"Well, I have my brother. And I didn't want to make him worry about me. It's hard sometimes. I have nightmares sometimes, but I'm not alone. And now you aren't either. You'll have a home and a safe place to live. Someplace where you don't need toys to be happy, will have good food and a warm place to stay," Luffy explained.

"I can't control my power. It will kill others, I'll be alone forever."

"Well, I guess me and Ace will just keep you company until you can, then." Ace nodded in agreement.

He was still shaken about what had just happened, but Luffy was right. He didn't kill on purpose, and it wasn't his own power that did it. It was an unwanted outcome, but it fixed a lot of issues.

He would definitely have nightmares, but Luffy was there for him when he was there for Luffy. Mirio came running back with multiple heroes and police, as well as an ambulance. They stood and Eri held each of their hands. "You'll be safe now. Why don't we leave this place? It doesn't have good memories for any of us."

Both of them looked unharmed, though Mirio had blood and tears into his costume. Ace the blood rinsed off fine and the fabric couldn't be ripped on either of their outfits easily. Both of their masks were gone, one soaked in blood and one forgotten. They walked to the crowd, and saw many heroes and police, as well as captured villains. Luffy was holding Eri easily. She had her head hidden in his neck. She was scared. Of course she was.

It looked like nobody had died. Kirishima was hurt and one of those going to the hospital. They saw Aizawa running to them, looking angry. Then he slowed, looking not so angry anymore. "You three did it, huh?" he asked. "Just you two and Mirio?" They nodded. "How many enemies were there?"

"Three not counting the leader." Then Ace smiled. "Looked like studying helped, huh? We brought ear plugs for the one who get anybody to tell the truth, and Luffy stayed on his air block with the guy who messed up equilibrium. We knew everything about everybody. At least, enough to help. Chisaki… was a bit different." He lost the happy look and pressed his lips together tightly, swallowing like he was going to vomit.

"Well, as long as everyone is safe. You'll be going to get checked up at the hospital as well. After you're discharged, you'll be questioned. Most likely with Mirio as well. What happened to you after we got separated is a mystery to everybody."

Ace and Luffy nodded. "Well, looks we're all going to the hospital together," Luffy said. "It might be scary, but people at the hospital are kind and want to help their patients." Eri nodded, and they joined the group going to the hospital. Seeing nobody was dead or permanently injured was good. A real relief.

The visit to the hospital was a blur. They were checked out, but had no big injuries besides Luffy got a couple bruises but the two didn't know if that was even from the mission. Ace had one injury, and they only found out about it once they were undressed.

Where Chisaki had grabbed and tried to blow Ace up, there was a black hand mark on Ace's forearm. Like an extreme burn. The doctor said it wasn't a burn, it was more like a stain on his skin. Ace looked at it and Luffy had barely had enough time to get the trashcan before Ace vomited.

"Cover it! Cover it!" he screamed, and Luffy ripped up a pillow case and tied it around Ace's burn quickly. Once it was out of sight, Ace was breathing deeply to calm himself. The poor doctor had no idea what had happened. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I don't want to look at it. When will it go away?"

The doctor looked worried. "It may fade with time. But you can't wash it off or scrub it away. It's deep in the tissue." Ace looked down, eyes shadowed.

"So. It's never going to go away, is it?" he asked quietly. The doctor said that he couldn't jump to that conclusion. They didn't know enough about it to determine. They'd find out as time progressed. "Okay. I'm sorry I freaked out."

"It's understandable considering the whole operation must have been taxing and stressful. You have mild bruising on your ankle. There are also heavy bruises on your forearms. Were you pushing against something hard?" Luffy looked at the back of his forearms, where he'd put up tha huge shield.

Luffy said, "I used my quirk to put up a wall. Something hard banged against it. Maybe it ended up hurting me." He was shocked. He wasn't as invincible as he thought. He didn't know it would take so much out of him. At least Eri's power seemed to have done nothing wrong to him or Ace.

She was in isolation with a fever. Aizawa would be staying with her since he could control her quirk. After a thorough check up and exam, they were deemed able to go home. And by home, they meant the police station to be questioned along with Mirio. They told each other they'd tell the truth. Everything. Mirio offered to explain the ending instead of Ace. He refused. He'd do it himself.

When they were there, Nighteye was as well. Since the three had branched off fairly early in the process, they weren't part of any of the other questioning, a whole empty part of the investigation. Like another chapter that no one had read yet.

Mirio said he'd ran through a couple walls before he heard it go quiet before Ace and Luffy were there. Then their reports all came together until after Luffy took Eri away.

"And how were you able to locate everybody and Mirio? You said you could tell there were two League of Villains members, as well."

Ace and Luffy held hands and finally explained to someone else about the haki. That tied into how Chisaki had been unable to hurt Ace, despite the marking he now had, covered by his costume's glove. Everything about their power, how the twins used it, and how they had no idea what it really was.

Mirio was in shock over it, having not known what it was. Only briefly given a flimsy explanation that was rushed on time. "Please, don't let other people know," Luffy said. The officer said that the general public didn't get their hands on information like this. Only the very higher ups saw this kind of stuff, and it was _always_ confidential.

"And what happened after Luffy took Eri away?"

"Mirio and I fought him. He had blown away his own hand but it was fixed fairly quickly. The spikes he made didn't hurt me or Mirio. They went right through him and bounced off of me. We'd already knocked out the other three, and Chisaki was the only one left. He was panicking, and when I picked up and burnt the bullets with the drug in them, he tried grabbing me again. I-" Luffy got a trashcan ready. "I… I… he attacked me, and I turned my arm into flame so he didn't grab me.

"I tried redirecting his aim, thinking he might be able to blow his leg off and give us time to restrain him properly. But… his hand went up, not down, and he…. There was b-blood everywhere. All over m-" and he threw up in the trash can. Luffy rubbed his back. Ace's apology echoed in the plastic trash can.

He was given a tissue and wiped his mouth, face red in shame. "I'm sorry. It's h-hard to think of. I know… I know he was a bad guy, he was a villain. And it wasn't my power to do it. But, it was like, assisted suicide. Or assisted murder. But it's my fault. I killed somebody. It was an accident, I lost it afterwards.

"If there had been any other enemy left, I would have been killed. I was a mess, I needed Luffy with me. We left the room to look for a bathroom to wash me off. I couldn't - and Eri couldn't - couldn't see me like that. We found a flooded bathroom, since the piping had been messed up. I rinsed off there before we went out to see Eri and then everybody else."

That was the conclusion of a very hard conversation. They were sure the others were upset in some way, but hopefully none of them were burdened like Ace was. Luffy felt terrible for putting Ace in that position. If he had fought too. But no, it was Luffy's plan in the first place. And done wrong. It was supposed to blast his lower half away, not everything in the upper half.

The papers were put in the folder, and Ace was given a bottle of water. "Thank you for your service." The three nodded.

Nighteye took Ace in and hugged him and Mirio. "It must have been so hard to be on your own. But I'm so proud of all of you. You three alone carried out the mission for us. You took out five enemies on your own, even if the last was done in an unfortunate way."

Ace whimpered, "I'm a murderer. I'm not even a hero, I'm a murderer." Luffy hugged him from behind. Villains had made Ace suffer over Luffy. Now they would make Luffy suffer over Ace.

"You are not a murderer. Words like that go to a certain type of person. You're not that type of person," Nighteye said softly. Ace looked at his gloved hand.

"I will always have this mark to remind me of what I did," he said in a hollow voice. "It was all an accident, I got cocky. Or I just didn't think in that moment of what could happen. I was high on adrenaline. I thought ahead of every other action besides that one. It ended someone's life."

Nighteye said, "You're a kind person if you can still think somebody like Chisaki was a person. The accomplices are all in prison or being questioned and are about to be in prison. Ace, you did what was right. You fought against the villains, but something unfortunate happened. We expected casualties. That's how it is in every hero mission. There is always danger or risk of life. We just didn't expect it to be this way."

Ace nodded, and stared at his arm. Luffy looked concerned. "Don't worry, Lu, I won't cut my arm off or anything. Maybe I can get a tattoo to cover it," Ace said, trying to help Luffy not be scared. "Villains always fuck us over, huh?" Luffy took his hand.

"That's why we want to be heroes. So they can't do that anymore," the younger twin said quietly. Mirio said that they _were_ heroes. They saved Eri, all three of them did it together. They were heroes, just not pros.

Nighteye said, "That will be put into question. The way you two pulled this off was incredible. You had plans for each enemy. And they all worked. And the studying you made the others do, it helped their own respective battles. Your actions were instrumental. Though I do know some of the information you must have learned did not come from anywhere accessible to the general public." He said it in a knowing voice. But not one of anger. "I won't tell anyone about that. It saved us lives in the end."

They exited the building and Gunhead was there, waiting for them. Ace and Luffy went running to him and hugged him, crying. They couldn't go home, so they stayed outside there, where nobody was around. It was better than in the car of someplace where people would see.

He was crying, too, but they couldn't see. "I'm so proud of you two. I knew you'd make fine heroes. And I'm so sorry, Ace. We'll get a nice covering for it, one made out of the fabric your outfit is made out of. That's the least they can give for your performance besides a large sum of money. Money you get to use in any way you want."

Ace and Luffy were smiling and laughing, before Luffy asked if they would get in trouble with how they got information. "I won't tell anybody."

Ace said, "When we lived with you at first, we learned some stuff online, too. Computer techniques. Anyways, we could find barely any information online or in the library in the legal way. We were able to get on the illegal internet. We got tons of info there! But we worried it'd get to our IP address, so… we sorta did it on a school computer and then immediately put a virus on it so nobody could see what the history was."

Luffy burst into laughter and Ace followed. Gunhead put his hands to his mask. But he wasn't angry. "Well, that's one way to get information. Wouldn't it have been safer to use your own laptop and get rid of the ip address? How would a school computer even let you get that far?"

Ace said that they didn't want to risk getting hacked or their personal information stolen. They used fake and disposable email accounts for everything. "We did our research and that virus would get rid of all history done on that computer, since U.A. computers run on themselves and not the wifi. It's weird."

Gunhead said, "You know the dark web isn't illegal, right? You can get on there for information, but like you said, your personal information can get stolen. Still, a school computer?"

The twins told them they couldn't use any other computer because they were trapped on campus and couldn't exactly go to the library. "It's their own fault for not letting us go anywhere. But we're gonna play dumb. We burned everything we used for this mission ahead of time in case we were asked to present it. So, we don't remember what websites we went on or what books we looked into," Luffy said innocently.

Gunhead sighed, "I do hope kids will be let out from school soon. It's not fair to them or their families." The two nodded. They spent until late afternoon with him, talking mostly about school things that weren't important enough to make a call to talk about them.


	25. The After Effects

Then they sadly returned to school. It felt like it was weeks ago, the last time they slept in their bed. That time felt like a lifetime away. When they went inside the dorm, everyone was waiting for them. "You're all back! We were so worried!" Ashido exclaimed. Ace's hand went to his gloved arm unconsciously.

"Let's not talk about it," Luffy said with a smile. They were shocked and confused, but they nodded. They awkwardly went to their own things, leaving Ace and Luffy to head to the others, ask them what had happened. The story was the same for all of them, and it made Ace and Luffy happy.

"If I hadn't known about their quirks or their pasts, I would have had a much harder time." Kirishima the most. Ace and Luffy felt so happy about that, it made Ace smile. They asked about Eri, and were all so happy that they were able to save her.

Luffy replied, "Eri is sweet, but she's going to be emotionally unstable for a while, if not forever. We're asking permission to go see her for a bit while hero work studies are paused." Kirishima finally asked the big question. How the fight with Chisaki went.

There was something wrong with them. Something wrong with Ace and Luffy. Why were they open about traumatizing stuff? Why did they do that? It wasn't meant for other people to know, yet they did. Why did Ace take off his glove and show the mark. Was it because Luffy was brave and strong enough to share the memories of his torture that he had to as well?

"I killed him. It was an accident. His power seemed to activate the moment it made contact with someone. So I tried that idea Luffy had thought up. It would have worked perfectly if I aimed right. I should have moved his hand downwards, not upwards. It didn't hit his leg, but his chest, blowing his upper body all over the walls, floor and me. I was covered in blood. And now I have this mark that no one knows will go away to remind me of that." He smiled weakly. "An improvement, I didn't throw up talking about it."

Luffy took Ace's hand, and the older twin put the glove back on. "We're gonna try to get a nice sleeve to go over it for now. The mission was a complete success, we defeated everyone, saved Eri. But this happened, so it wasn't that great of an achievement. Y'know? Just wish it could've' ended a bit differently," Luffy said.

Uraraka had her hands over her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Ace." Ace thanked her, asking them not to spread it around. At least not yet. It wasn't something that happened to him, like Luffy's torture. It was him doing something unforgivable, even if he knew most would agree that it wasn't his fault and he shouldn't be punished for it.

It was very hard for Ace to sleep that night, so Luffy snuggled him. It would look really weird to anyone else, but Luffy hugged Ace all night, and it worked and he didn't wake up from nightmares. When he woke up, Ace discovered that there was a puddle of drool on his ear.

"Seriously, Luffy?" he asked, wiping the drool off with Luffy's sleeve. He sat up and looked at Ace, but didn't call him a watermelon this time. He poked to his own cheeks.

"Rotted skin," he mumbled.

"You have to be joking or I'm going to throw you off the balcony." Luffy burst into laughter, and Ace joined in. It was a nice light mood, and classes started again the day after. They were going to see if they could see Eri. After they ate, they called the hospital, those who had gone to fight for her in the room. They were all still exhausted emotionally if not physically from the whole mission. It was stressful, but Eri would be having the hardest time right now.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Luffy, we rescued Eri the other day and brought her in. How is she doing? Can we talk to her?" the youngest twin asked.

"Her fever is down, but she's very scared and confused. Her quirk is making it a bit difficult for us. But I'll see if she wants to speak on the phone with you." After a moment, they heard beeping and footsteps before Eri was told when he was on the phone.

Her small voice asked, "Luffy?"

Luffy and Ace grinned. "Hi, Eri. How are you feeling?"

She sniffled. "I'm scared. And I can't be around anyone. I keep hav-having bad dreams." Her voice was scared and unsure. It was hard to hear. They wanted her to be happy, but knew that would take time, they knew personally.

Ace said, "What are you scared of?" kindly. Telling her not to be scared seemed like it could be seen as a belittling thing to do to her. She said she was scared Chisaki would come get her again. She was scared of her nightmares. And scared when she looked at all of the scars she had from him.

Luffy said, "Chisaki is gone. He's ever coming back for you ever again. And you have Aizawa there to protect you right now, right?" Since she was unable to control her dangerous quirk, Aizawa was there for now. Ace and Luffy were immune, but it didn't stop her from going out of control if things took a turn for the worst.

Eri said, "I know… I don't know." They hoped she wasn't feeling embarrassed about it.

Midoriya said, "We all have things we're afraid of. There's nothing wrong with being scared." Uraraka agreed. "Everyone is scared of many things."

She asked if they were scared of things like she was. They listed their fears. None of them were too surprising. Some were failing, being terrible heroes. One of their family members dying. Luffy and Ace were afraid of losing one another the most.

Eri asked when they wouldn't be scared anymore. When she wouldn't be scared anymore. They were honest, and Luffy said that she might be scared for a while. But made sure to tell there was nothing wrong with being afraid. Luffy reminded her of how far she'd come.  
"I know it's hard to see things like that now, but one day you'll realize you're stronger than anyone."

There were sniffles on the other side. "Can we ask the nurses a question, Eri?" Luffy asked. She said okay and handed the phone to a nurse nearby. She sounded so sad and lost, but she was safe now. She just needed to learn to control her power.

But where would she go? Surely a nice home? They'd have trouble with someone so traumatized. When would she heal enough to be alright and safe to be myself at all? Probably not for a while but she was on the road to recovery, no matter how long it took to get there. "Hello?"

"Hi, I was wondering if we could come visit her? We won't be harmed by her powers," Luffy asked. He was turned down, saying she needed rest and to recuperate before seeing anything or anybody that reminded her of her recent life. They understood, even if they were disappointed. They wished they could give her a hug, or at least hold her hands and assure her things will be better some day. A promise they knew they could keep for sure.

Aizawa was suddenly on the phone. "Luffy, everyone. There will be no visiting Eri for now. She's emotionally unstable and her power could activate at any time. I'm here to watch that for now," he said in his flat voice. The students all frowned and deflated.

Ace pointed out that he and Luffy would be fine. "And why is that?" They didn't answer, being unable to figure out what to say. "I thought so. Until you're ready to explain how, you can't visit Eri until the professionals say it's all right."

They all sighed but nodded. They were put back on the phone with Eri, but didn't talk long before she had to do some testing and take a bath. They assured her they'd stay in touch and to be strong in the hospital where everyone wants her to get better and be happy.

"Okay," the six year old said quietly.

When they got off of the phone, all of them frowned. "I wish we could see her."

They nodded in agreement with Tsu. Only Ace and Luffy had actually been around her, the others had fought for her sake but had not met her personally. Hopefully they could make her happy some day. Did she know how to smile after the life she'd lived? Did she have a single happy memory? They hoped so. If not, it would be painfully tragic.

There was a knock on the front door of the dorms and All Might walked in, binging a box for Ace. They saw it had a stamp from the hero society. The support hero company that gave out costumes and good quality hero accessories. It was the place that gave everyone at U.A. their costumes.

"This is for young Ace," he said. "I'd like to talk to you in private." The twins nodded, not being separated even by things like this. The box was given to him once they were in private, and he opened it to see the sleeve they'd ordered. It was black and had the Gunhead logo on it. He took off his costume glove and didn't look at the handprint before he slid it on, and it felt thin and light. Like it wasn't even there.

He sighed, liking it a lot. He lit his arm on fire and it stayed perfectly fine. He was happy with this. "I'd like to suggest counseling for young Ace, here," All Might said, getting straight to the point. Both of them grew uncomfortable. "I know you two have always been on your own and taken care of things yourself, but the trauma Ace recently went through would be hard for most people. Especially those as young as you."

Luffy and Ace shared a glance. Luffy gave him an encouraging smile. Ace didn't want to, but he also wanted to be normal for Luffy. So, he agreed to try. All Might smiled and said it was good for him to agree. He said they should speak to the counselor soon. The two got up to follow him out, getting on this quickly and not procrastinating.

When they got to the office, they found it was not a hero, but a licensed therapist. They had their first appointment there. Everyone knew there was no separating them, so they didn't blink an eye when Luffy went in with him. But they made sure to sit in different places.

It was an easy appointment, mostly getting to know one another. Luffy hardly talked, had Ace do all of it with his easy presence there for him. Letting him know he wasn't alone, but also having him speak on his own.

After they were finished, they found Mirio in the hallway, looking sad. "Mirio, are you okay?" Luffy asked in concern. He looked over and immediately smiled, saying he was just fine, and the weather was perfect. Both of them knew something was wrong, and gave him a concerned look that showed they weren't buying his bullshit.

"I wish I could see Eri," he said honestly. "But they said it's too dangerous with her quirk how it is, even if it is under control right now. She must be so lonely. I talked to her over the phone."

The other two could understand. They'd talked to her as well. "Hopefully we can see her soon. And we'll make her smile as best as she can. I think it will be hard, but I want to do that," Luffy said. "She deserves to smile." Mirio smiled softly and agreed. They were the only ones to help her directly, so she only knew them. And they couldn't see her.

"I wish I could be around her like you can. With that ability." The other two nodded, but said it was suspicious to do in front of everyone else. They didn't know how they'd react. "That's true. Nobody would know what it was or where it came from. You might be under a microscope." The twins nodded, saying that was what they most definitely didn't want. "I won't tell anybody. It was what saved us."

He looked at Ace's arm, and asked what was wrong with it. After all, they'd been in their hero outfits when interviewed, since they went straight to questioning instead of the office to get their normal clothes.

The older twin took it off but didn't look at it. "It's some sort of burn after Chisaki tried to blow me up. Don't know when it will go away, but it will always remind me of what I did, accident or not," he explained before hurrying to put it back on. Mirio looked at him sadly and said he was so sorry for him. Ace smiled and waved it off. He said he'd get over it someday, so he didn't need to worry. "I'm going to counseling because of it."

Mirio told them he was offered that as well, but turned it down, thinking he was fine on his own. Ace and Luffy nodded. "We'll all get better, no matter how long it takes. I wonder how long internships will be suspended." Mirio shrugged. It had been a big operation. Lots of injuries, but no casualties.

"I bet Sir is worried about us," Mirio commented. Luffy said he was glad they didn't get in any trouble with anything they'd done on their own. "We had provisional licenses. We were allowed to fight on our own. Even if Aizawa seemed angry with you two. But we saved her and completed the mission, they can't get very mad about it. Have you two been getting any mail?"

"Mail?"

"I've been getting messages from other agencies and pros asking if I wanted to work for them. I've tuned down all of them." Ace and Luffy had gotten no mail. It was strange. Maybe because Ace killed someone. So they said they hadn't gotten any yet. Which was strange. Oh well.

Mirio turned to them and said he was glad he got to work with them. It meant a lot to him to help be the one to save Eri. They grinned at him and said they were glad it was him as well. It was only right for them to be the one to make up for their mistake. They shook their hands. "We'll stay in touch. Will you tell me if you are allowed to see Eri?"

"Absolutely. The same for you," Ace said. Mirio promised. Then they went their separate ways.

-x-

They were practicing their ultimate moves again in the hero training. In the gym they always used. The twins didn't know what to use. Luffy felt he'd learned everything he could at the moment. Ace did as well, not knowing to work on. So, they just started training with their bodies and not their quirks. Well, they were using haki on their legs to throw rubble at one another and break it apart with kicks or punches.

Luffy was better with punches than kicks. It showed, since his kicks were a bit more wobbly. They'd work on tha. Midoriya was working hard on the opposite side of the gym. They were nearest to Mineta, who kept accidentally dropping his balls on them. Ace burnt them if they got too close, which was easy so they didn't get on his case about it. He didn't mean to.

The others were improving while Ace and Luffy felt they were in a rut. Then they saw Midoriya let loose a weak air projectile. Maybe they could try that. "Why don't we try that one out? I'm sure it won't go very well, but we can try," Ace said, pointing to Midoriya's work. Luffy said Ace could try and kick heat air. Then they wouldn't be copying him completely.

"Like when All Might was punching air at us in the exam we took. When we obliterated the training area," Luffy added. Ace nodded and said he'd try. "I'm sure it won't go far, but best to start, right?"

He nodded and took a deep breath, heating his leg before kicking at the rock nearest them. But it didn't go how they expected and a sort of blade of heat came from his leg burning through the base of the rock formation and a piece of the gym wall. Everyone stumbled, and Luffy shouted, "Oh no!" and then everyone was in air boxes to protect them from the crumbling rocks.

The room went silent before Luffy's arms started to shake and he lost control of his boxes, dropping everyone though Cementos had easily stabilized the rocks. Everyone looked at them. Ace bowed and apologized profusely. That he hadn't meant for that to happen.

The handful of teachers behind them watched Ace and Luffy with shocked eyes. The others nodded, saying none of them were hurt, just startled. Luffy's arms were exhausted. Sore and shaking still. He had created solid air away from him and enough to catch each of their fellow students. Using his observation haki to know where everyone was.

"Maybe don't use that attack in doors when other people are here," Midnight said, though she sounded a bit uneasy. Aizawa was there, a break from being with Eri as he told them the horn that her power emanated from had shrunk and was now a small bump. She seemed safe for the moment.

He asked, "Where did you learn that?"

Ace and Luffy said they didn't know. "I've never been able to create air boxes or not in his immediate area." Ace said he'd just never tried it. Luffy said his arms now were exhausted, like he'd been holding something much too heavy that he couldn't carry. Aizawa told them to take a break. Then he asked something strange. "Will you both use your powers? I'd like to see something." They both nodded and Luffy formed a shield and Ace lit his hand on fire. Aizawa clearly used his eraser on them, but it didn't work. Ace's flames didn't go out all the way, they just dimmed extremely. Luffy's shield thinned and thinned until it broke apart.

He released his power and theirs flared back up. He looked concerned and wary. He said to tell no one else about this. The other teachers were surprised as well. Luffy hesitantly asked if they were in trouble. "No, you're not in trouble." They both nodded and went to get a drink of water.

When they got back. Many of the students swarmed them. "I never knew what it was like to stand on something invisible in the air! That was scary!" Kagakure exclaimed. Luffy apologized, saying it must have worried everybody. She then commented on how powerful Ace's kick was. They were both uncomfortable, and saying they hadn't really tried that. Luffy didn't mean to, he just panicked.

"Another show of teamwork!" Ashido cheered. Some of the guys were scowling, and it made Ace and Luffy frown deeply. Ace insisted that they really hadn't meant for that to happen. Sato looked at the unhappy faces.

"Oi! Wouldn't you all want to be congratulated or respected for improving? What's with those faces?!" he demanded, making eye contact with everyone with those expressions. They all seemed surprised before ashamed. Many apologized.

Kaminari said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to glare, I just wished I improved as fast as you two and Bakugo. I bet you two got stronger thanks to the work internship." The two nodded, knowing that was probably the reason.

Midnight said, "Stress can increase the pace of improvement. The feeling of fighting for your life can send you shooting forward in terms of improvement. Like when we were attacked by villains and all of your abilities strengthened."

Aizawa reminded them of what Mirio had said. "Experience is power." They all nodded, saying they'd completely forgotten about that. They looked at Kirishima, and saw his ultimate hardened form.

Sero said, "I guess it's not just you two that improvement from that mission." Ace and Luffy were glad that the teachers pointed that out. That it wasn't just them naturally becoming stronger, but that their experiences fueled improvement. The others all said they wanted to do hero work studies as well.

"Yo! Ace, Luffy, come try and punch me as hard as you can!" Kirishima said. "Let's see how hardened I am!" Ace and Luffy did anything to get out of the spotlight and hurried to Kirishima. The stone mountains were back and people were getting back into place. Luffy covered his hand in a very thin layer of hard air so it wouldn't hurt his knuckles, and punched hard. It splintered his hardened body slightly, but did little damage. "Fuck yeah! Ace, you next!"

They weren't using haki as that wasn't fair and wasn't necessary for him since nobody else had it. Ace punched him hard in the gut, but again it did little damage. "Hell yeah! Man, I'm so pumped. Fighting that dude really helped me! He hurt me pretty badly, but I don't think there's anyone that could punch as hard as that guy."

Luffy commented that the first guy who'd come had hit his shield so hard it bruised his forearms pretty badly. "Wow, I thought your shields were invincible." Luffy said that the shield wasn't damaged, just his arms that were touching it. It hadn't moved, but the vibrations had damaged the skin.

"I wish people knew that we weren't invincible. Our powers sometimes hurt us as well." Some of the others heard this, about Luffy's powers hurting him and relaxed. They really were jealous of them sometimes. But that would not stop them from being the best they could be.

Aizawa watched them closely the rest of the period, and they didn't like that. They felt they were under a microscope, like Mirio had said. Only it was from a teacher, nothing else. Nobody else. Hopefully he didn't spread this around. Or they might be screwed. They were lying about the extent of their abilities for their safety. Would they get in trouble for that? They didn't use it to hurt anybody. Surely that would matter most.

After class, Aizawa pulled them to the side. "Ace, Luffy, what were your parents' quirks?"

Ace asked, "What are you asking?" suspiciously. They didn't want to speak of their childhood. He replied that he wanted to know based on how powerful both of them were. They both hardened, Aizawa insinuating their parents were powerful. The opposite. And that was why they threw them away, jealous of their childrens' talents. Threw them onto the street alone to suffer for five long years that would always stay with them.

"Our biological parents had the powers of making every surface they touched sparkle and writing in books without needing a pen. They were weaker than we were at seven," Luffy said in a strained voice which was hiding bitterness. Aizawa looked surprised. He asked where they were. "Don't know, they dumped us when we were seven because we were stronger than they were. It's not like we asked to be this powerful."

Aizawa's eyes widened, seeing a side of them nobody else but Gunhead and Midoriya knew. He looked guilty for once, realizing it was a sore subject that really was none of his business. "I see. I apologize for bringing that up."

They nodded and said they were going to go get lunch now. They walked away holding hands. "It's okay. We'll be fine, Lu," Ace said softly. Luffy nodded, knowing that was true.


	26. Supreme

#### Aj_was_here: Thank you, I'm happy you like my stories so much! Wow, the Broken But Loved series was so long ago! I remember I wrote a large portion of it at school between breaks on the computer there lol. 

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**This chapter is super intense! Our boys just get stronger and stronger! Enjoy~**

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Blood splattered all over Ace, getting in his eyes and mouth. Guts and blood littered the room, soaking into the stone, seeming to melt it like lava. It came closer to Ace before it stopped. Ace was back in a corner, and soon the blood started to shrink back into one spot, attaching back to the lower half of Chisaki's body.

It was sucked inside as he reformed and pulled himself up like there was a string attached to his chest. His face was mangled, only his eyes visible. Everything else was bloody. Then he grabbed Ace's arm and he was sucked into Ace's body.

"I'll never leave you, murderer," Chisaki's haunting voice said.

Ace woke up screaming bloody murder, and Luffy was trying to calm him down. "Ace, Ace! Wake up, you're okay, you're with me, with Luffy," he said, rocking Ace back and forth as he sobbed, gripping his arm with the burn mark.

Luffy asked if he wanted to talk about it. Ace shook his head. They felt people coming out of their rooms on that floor and heading over. There were soft knocks on the door, and Luffy opened it to concerned and sleeping classmates. "Are you okay?" Sato as asked in deep concern.

The younger twin said that Ace had a nightmare and that they were fine. Ace said, "I'm sorry for waking everybody up," in an ashamed voice. They waved it off, saying they understood and didn't blame him. The twins thanked them and closed the door. They felt everyone return to their rooms.

"Why don't we go outside? For some fresh air?" Luffy suggested. Ace nodded, and the two of them went down the elevator, and out to the front porch. Surely being here would be fine, even if it was after hours. They sat on the steps and breathed in the cool, fresh air. They could have just opened the window, but this was better.

Luffy hugged Ace from the side. "We're okay," Luffy said quietly. "I'm sorry you had such a terrible nightmare, no matter what it was." Ace nodded and sniffled, saying it was terrible. He looked at his covered arm, covering that terrible reminder.

He said, "I understand that it was an accident, but he was still a person, no matter how horrible. He shouldn't have gotten the easy way out, he should have been in prison for forever." Luffy nodded. It wasn't fair, for him or Ace. But in different ways. Ace shouldn't have to suffer but Chisaki should have still been alive.

Luffy said, "I'm sorry I gave you that idea. It's my fault." Ace denied this, saying he hadn't pulled it off correctly. He was sure it would have worked if it hadn't been the upper body instead of his legs. "That might not be accurate. We saw what happened to his hand and he was able to fix it easily. He could have just repaired his leg and gone after you again."

Ace knew that was true and a good point. He just wished he hadn't been the one to do it. And wished this mark would go away. They were about to go back to bed, and inside when they felt something big and scary flying at them from above. Whatever it was, it was bad news. Hey just barely made it out of the way before it crashed down where they'd just been.

They screamed involuntarily and backed away. It was bad news, a terrible feeling. Like the nomu had been, and it had them shaking. They stood up, holding onto each other. "What is it?!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Is it a nomu?!" Ace shouted, backing away. They were frozen, never having been near something so terrible.

"Are… you the in-invincible one?" the nomu asked. Could nomus talk? And it felt different than the other ones. "The ones quir-quiks don't work on? Who's the strongest?"

Luffy stuttered, "We're not the strongest! We're only students!" he said. There were people looking out their windows, and Ace told everybody to be quiet. Luffy and Ace shared a look. This thing could easily destroy dorms, so they had to get it away. They both started running to the area without dorms, but it easily went after them flying quickly. It slammed down right where they'd been and they dodged.

"You are strong. Not the strongest," it said, eyes narrowing. It almost sounded entertained. Then more nomu came out of it. Nine at least. They had nowhere to run. It could fly, Luffy's powers would be useless against it. Were they going to die here? All alone? Well, they had one another. But they would still die.

The nomu started chasing after them and they sprinted as fast as they could, coming out to the more empty space. Away from everyone else. They wouldn't let anyone else die because this thing was targeting them.

One nomu made it and grabbed Luffy's leg. It looked like their haki was slow when they were terrified. "Luffy!"

His leg broke with a sickening snap. He screamed and Ace shot fire at it, making it let go. Ace helped Luffy and they ran. They didn't have enough time to power up and obliterate it. Plus, they didn't know how to control the range and might end up killing everyone.

Where were the teachers and pro-heroes?! What would they be there, did they even know what was happening? Luffy's leg was very broken, the bone protruding and trailing blood. One swiped at Ace, but he ducked, barely missing losing his head.

"You-you are not so st-strong... after all. Master was wrong." They both stopped breathing. The League of Villains sent these after them. But they ran in the wrong direction and soon got to a clearing with trees around, making it hard to drag Luffy through the trees, which were packed tightly together.

They tripped and Ace hit his arm hard, but it didn't hurt too bad. They turned around and screamed as nine nomu approached them, the big smarter one hovering above. "No! Don't!" the two of them screamed, shielding themselves and huddling together, ready to die. But they opened their eyes and the nomu had stopped going after them, now shaking like they were afraid.

They didn't approach. "What's going on?!" Luffy cried, tears streaming down his face. Ace was shaking, processing what was happening. He said that the nomu had listened to them when they told them to stop. Even the big one had stopped. "Can we give them orders? Make them go away?" Luffy asked, gripping tightly to Ace, both of them shaking.

"We can do better. If this works. They… they might come right back," Ace said. "N-Nomu, k-kill yourselves," he stuttered. The nomu looked up, and then took their clawed hands and dug them into their exposed brains, crushing them and ripping them out of their heads.

The bigger, smarter nomu didn't do it, but still wasn't moving. "That one is strong. W-we shouldn't get close," Luffy said, gripping tightly to Ace, shaking. Ace was feeling more bold, more calm. He had to protect Luffy.

"Smart Nomu, come here and don't move," Ace commanded. If this didn't work, then they'd be dead. But at least they killed the other nomu. The black one flew over, looking like it was visibly fighting the order. Ace shot forth a huge plume of the hottest fire he could. It screeched as it burned and Ace used the other hand to make a compressed bomb for Luffy, who threw it at it and it exploded from the head outwards. It didn't seem to have blood, but the head was destroyed.

They were still shaking, and stood up, and started to run. They were still crying, scared and traumatized. It had come for them on campus. Was nowhere safe? Why after them? Was it because Shigaraki's powers didn't work on Luffy while he was tortured?

They ran into Midnight, who was asking them what happened. They both started sobbing. "They were after us!" Luffy cried. Teachers were now surrounding them, and saw the state they were in. Their clothes were dirty, Luffy's pajama pants ripped and his leg bloody and broken.

Aizawa was there and ran into the woods where they'd come from. Midnight took Luffy and Ace, hurrying to Recovery Girl to heal Luffy's badly broken leg. "What happened?" she asked. They were both a shaking mess.

"A nomu! We we-were outside, cause Ace had a bad dream and we were sitting on the p-porch and it followed after us! It asked if we were the- the strongest and it tried to kill us. It was the League of Villains! Sent by Shagaraki. Then, more nomu came out of it and grabbed Luffy's leg," Ace explained in tears. Nobody would think they were invincible now. They were terrified, and Luffy was injured.

Midnight said she was so sorry, and that they'd take care of this. She sounded so worried. "It came at school. Is it safe?" Ace asked. Midnight didn't answer at first, but then honestly said, "I'm not sure."

Ace carried Luffy up the stairs and to the infirmary. He laid him down on the bed and Recovery Girl was there instantly, even though it was the middle of the night. She kissed Luffy's leg to help heal it, but then put it in a cast for good measure. They were both still shaking, terrified and traumatized. Never had they been more afraid or hopeless than they were just now.

And now the villains would probably want them dead even more. They killed the nomu they'd sent after them. They hoped nobody else was injured. They were targeted specifically. Why them? Why couldn't they just be left alone? They'd been running from villains for too long. They just wanted to be safe and learn while not being afraid for their safety.

They were both made some tea before given sedatives that quickly put them to sleep with no nightmares.

When they woke up, there were too many heroes in the room, but only the ones from school. They could sense police and other heroes in the hallway. "Hey, Ace, Luffy," Aziawa said. They didn't respond. "Nobody was hurt from the attack." The twins sighed in relief. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Ace was the one to speak. "I had a nightmare, so we went onto the porch for some fresh air. We didn't even leave the building before this monster came flying at us. It was a nomu, but it could talk. It asked if we were the strongest, and then said Shigaraki sent it. We ran away, not wanting anyone to get hurt and we were too scared to fight back. I've never been so scared before. It was fast and smart and it's voice was creepy.

"It followed us and kept trying to hurt us before a bunch of normal nomu came out and started chasing us, too. It grabbed and broke Luffy's leg. We were trapped in the clearing, and we were gonna die. But… then something weird happened. We screamed at them to not hurt us and they all froze and-and didn't come any closer," Ace said. Lufy explained the rest.

"They were just standing there, so Ace thought that maybe they listened to us and maybe we could get them to hurt themselves. Ace told them to kill themselves so they wouldn't hurt us or anybody else. And… they did," Luffy whispered. "They ripped out their brains and died."

Ace said, "The scarier one didn't, so it came closer and I burnt it's head off. It stopped doing anything and then we ran again. Then we found Midnight." Luffy asked what happened after they were gone.

Aizawa showed them some photos. The nomu were all dead with their brains destroyed or no longer inside of them. The bigger one wasn't moving as it's head was gone. "They were all dead when we got there."

Luffy and Ace had no idea what happened. "How did we tell them what to do?" Ace asked. Aizawa said that was what everybody was wondering. "Is it still safe here? They came onto campus. Are we safe? Do we have to go into hiding?" he asked desperately. Aizawa said they weren't sure, but were already thinking of ways to improve the protection.

"We're thinking of creating an invisible fence around the perimeter of the school. It's been done before, in prisons. An almost force field covering the circumference of the entire campus. It would keep anyone and anything from entering without a key. We're not going to tell the public or other students that the thing came after you. Your class knows, but that's it."

Ace and Luffy nodded. "We don't know what happened. We were so scared and then they just did what we said. Sensei… we just want to be like other kids," Luffy whimpered. He started sniffling. "We don't want everyone to be jealous of us, or call us perfect, or make us seem like some gods. We want to do good, we want to do our best in everything, but it just makes people not like us," he started crying.

Ace hugged him, and Aizawa said he was sorry. That he wished that they could be as strong as they were without any problems. It was the nicest he'd been since Luffy was kidnapped and Ace had lost control of his powers and emotions. "You have been through so much in such a short amount of time. It's not fair to you. Not at all. But we are proud that you can still fight on despite the scars you carry."

They both nodded and thanked him. Aizawa said he'd get them some breakfast. They thanked him and relaxed back into the bed. "Do you thank anyone will want to be our friends?" Luffy asked quietly.

Ace's expression hardened. "The only way we'll be safe is if we kill the League of Villains. Or arrest them. But based on our response to the nomu, we're not strong enough to do that." Luffy looked at him.

"Are you serious? You want to go after them?" he asked in slight disbelief. The older twin shrugged, saying they couldn't do that as they were now. He pointed out that they might be able to turn the nomu against them completely and have their own monsters kill them. Luffy was worried. Ace sounded really serious.

The older said, "Let's master that power. Whatever it was, we'll master it and use it against the villains. If we could do that to those monsters, what if we could do it to humans? We could get them to turn themselves in."

Luffy replied, "I'm all for mastering it, but we can't go on our own. We might get expelled." Ace said they could try to get the Nighteye agency to get everyone back together to fight off them. They all fought off the Shie Hassaikai. "We were the ones to take down Chisaki and the other three. And it didn't go to plan at all."

"We won, though, didn't we?" He looked at his wrapped arm, and pulled it down. "This mark isn't a reminder of who I killed. It's a reminder that I survived being exploded and only came back with a burn mark. I won't hide this anymore. This is what was left after fighting someone so strong." Luffy looked concerned.

Ace noticed and patted his head. "I won't lose myself. I'm just looking at things differently now. I'll do things the right way. I'm not Midoriya, I don't break rules. Right? But it's for our own safety. We need to try and do something, even if it's just asking the higher ups for help." Luffy gave a relieved sigh, knowing ace was telling the absolute truth. He nodded in agreement.

"Maybe if the League is taken down, we can return home and live with Gunhead again," Luffy said brightly. Ace grinned, saying that would be wonderful. Aizawa brought in food, and they both dug in, Luffy being careful with his broken leg.

After a while, they were discharged after getting healing gummies for their sore muscles from falling and sprinting as hard as they had. They were escorted to a meeting room and kindly questioned by police. They were understanding. It was finally time to reveal their haki because it was an important reason they were targeted.

Luffy asked if they could only have the highest authority in there for confidential reasons. They all looked surprised, but nodded. Only the police chief was left, as well as the principal. "When he said we were invincible, it was from Lufy's torture. He developed a new power we never had before. It seems like near death situations are doing things like that. We've named it 'haki'."

Luffy covered his forearm in the haki. "When Sihgaraki aimed to dissolve my skin like he had Aizawa at USJ, this stopped him. His quirk didn't work on it." Luffy took over.

"I kept it there the four days I was awake. I stayed awake so I could keep this mystery shield thing protecting me. I thought some of the superheroes had seen it when they rescued me, but nobody has said a thing about it," Luffy explained.

Ace showed his arm burn, the black handprint. "We were fighting Chisaki, in a desperate situation. When he grabbed my arm to use his power to destroy it, it backfired. This was all that was left. This mark was the only proof that overhaul was attempted on me," he explained in a strong voice.

Nezu had a pleasant look on. "Who else knows of this?" Ace asked if those who knew would get in trouble. "No, because you have not used this against anyone who is not a villain. Many people have quirks, and end up manifesting unknown versions of said quirks. This is abnormal that both of you have it, but you are twins, so it makes sense a bit more than regular siblings."

They both nodded, and Luffy said, "Togata Mirio, Sir Nighteye, Midoriya Izuku and Gunhead, our guardian." They were asked if they had anything else like this. "Yes. It was also developed to save our lives. We… we were dumped onto the streets because our biological parents weren't happy our quirks surpassed theirs. We can sense others around, and when we were on the streets, it was the only way we could survive from enemies for so long."

Ace said, "These powers saved our lives. If we didn't have them, both of us would have been killed long ago. Please… don't tell anyone else. We're already ostracized for our quirks and our grades and physical strength. We don't want it to get worse. Our own friends dislike our progress, can you imagine what they'd think if they knew about this?" Ace begged. "Please, we want to still seem at least a little normal. We know we're not, but it keeps us feeling even a little normal, not having anyone know."

Both of them had tears in their eyes as they begged. Nezu put his hand up. "This will not be spread to anybody. Especially the students or general public. I swear on my job that this will stay in this room."

Ace and Luffy bowed thanking them. "I'm sorry we're so emotional. Last night was scary, and we just want our friends to like us. We want to keep them. It's hard already. We want to be the same as everybody else," Ace said, eyes teary.

The police chief said that they understood well. He was being really kind. They were strong, but they were still 15 and scared. They were still children. "It is lucky that this happened after you got your provisional license or things would be a bit messier. And we will not shame you for saving yourselves.

"Based on what you've said regarding the torture and your childhood, it is clear these abilities have only come about for self defense. Nobody will look down on you for that. At least, none of the higher ups. This will stay in this room and in confidential files," the police chief swore.

The two thanked him. Ace then turned to Nezu. "Is there a way to get the League of Villains anytime soon? The only way we'd be safe here, would be to catch them or end them. We want to go to school safely."

The police chief said that they were doing their best to find them. They were not hesitating on that, and there were always people working on that case. "Nobody has forgotten about the threat to U.A."

Nezu commented, "We are already working on more safety measures. The most skilled technicians and support companies are working on a forcefield to protect the school from the sky. We should have done that the moment we found out that there were nomu that could fly. We will do what we can to keep you safe and able to continue your education."

Ace and Luffy nodded, thanking them with bows, and apologizing for causing trouble for everyone. "Nobody blames you. It is not wrong that you protected yourselves with your powers. Now, go get changed and relax. We'd also like to formally thank you. We know it was not desired or planned, but you potentially saved many lives by taking out the nomu."

They nodded, glad nobody else got hurt. They stood and left the room, Luffy using crutches to make it back to the dorms to shower and change, they were still dirty and their clothes had grass stains and mud on them. They were lucky they'd been wearing shoes.

When they made it back, they entered the room, looking ill with bags under their eyes. The students swarmed them in worry, asking what the hell had happened. Uraraka told everyone to let them get changed and shower first. They agreed, and after Ace and Luffy did so, they came back out to homemade hot chocolate and cookies. Sato made them some.

"Are you okay?" Sero asked.

They both nodded. "A nomu attacked us. It just flew out of nowhere. We… were so scared all we could do was run. It could talk, it was smart. And nine other nomu came out of it and chased us. It grabbed Luffy's leg and snapped it in half. Other than that, we're okay if not a little banged up and tired."

Ashido asked how they'd survived. Ace and Luffy frowned. They'd tell a half truth. "We don't know what happened to them. We were cornered and about to die before they just started to rip their own brains out. Ace managed to burn the head off of the smart and scary one. They killed themselves, and we don't know why. We ran back out of the forest and ran into the teachers. We were questioned this morning after waking up. We're sorry." The others didn't understand why they were apologizing. "You all could have been hurt when it went after us. We barely survived. The smart one said it was from Shigaraki."

They all gasped. Ace clenched his fist. "If they would just get caught or die, everyone would be safe, and could go home to their families. I want to take them down. But I'm not stupid and will think we can do it ourselves." The others understood and agreed. They wanted the League gone as well. "And now that the nomus are dead because of us, surely they're even angrier. We understand if you don't want to be our friends anymore."

The group erupted into confusion, asking why they would think that. "We're a danger to be around, now," Luffy pointed out.

Ashido said, "You think we'll just ditch you for something that's not even your fault?" in an annoyed and shocked voice.

Ace said that they already didn't like them much anymore. "The more we progress, the more you resent it. It's clear to see. You may not mean to, but it's clear deep down that you wish we would stop improving. I know you don't mean to, but it makes us feel like outsiders. You're all improving at a more slow pace, and we keep getting better and better."

Everyone's faces crumpled. Luffy looked at the high ceiling. "We didn't ask to be this strong. We just want to be normal. Being stronger than everyone close to us already had bad consequences for us. Our parents threw us on the street when we were seven because our powers surpassed theirs. They ditched us. We were homeless for five years. Being strong there had villains chase us, trying to coerce us to join them, or kill us as we were competing to get food. We've already been thoroughly punished for being ahead. Having it happen here just rubs salt in the wounds that we know won't ever go away. We know you'll ditch us eventually, like everybody else."

Everyone looked at them in horror, understanding now why they hated being called perfect, hated being resented for growing stronger. They'd been put through hell because they were above average. They were already abandoned for that. And here everybody acted like that as well.

"Our friends have left us already. Jealous of our progress. It's not new. Maybe we shouldn't have made friends with everyone, after all. It just hurts more to get close to people who will abandon us," Ace said simply. They were all speechless. "Sorry for whining about our past. Luffy, let's go for a walk."

They both stood up, leaving their undrunk hot chocolate and leaving the dorm, Luffy with his crutches. They were both miserable. Bringing it all up really showed they'd always be outsides. Always coveted or shunned for their talents.

Many followed them out, trying to get them to stop. Midoriya was crying, knowing they'd been talking about him as that friend that was jealous of them. "Wait! Ace, Luffy, wait!" Uraraka said, the others followed. Iida was in front of them suddenly.

"We're sorry. We've said this before, we've promised before. But, now we really understand. How much we've been hurting you without even knowing it. We still want to be friends!" Kirishima insisted.

Ace and Luffy both felt bad for being dishonest about the haki. They'd already told strangers, would they be mad, too? Well, Ace and Luffy were prepared for them to not want to be friends anymore. Maybe this will be the real test, if they knew about their haki.

"You still don't know everything," Luffy said.

Uraraka took his hands, "Then tell us. We'll show you we still want to be friends no matter what. Luffy is the sun of the class, we don't want to lose either of you. You'll always be our friends, we'll always be yours." The rest nodded, agreeing. Ace and Luffy sighed and said they'd tell them more, the things they'd been hiding for their safety.

"You can't tell anybody else. Promise?" Ace asked. They all nodded. Bakugo was there, watching from a distance with a blank face on. They all walked back to the dorm.

Tsu said, "I feel we've all become closer after this. We're a family, all of us have been through so much together we could never hate you." Ace and Luffy gave soft smiles. They hadn't gotten far at all, so it wasn't a big distance for Luffy to walk back with his crutches. His leg felt better, but Recovery Girl said the break was very bad so he'd need to be careful for another two days.

Once they were all inside, they were standing or sitting around the couch that the twins were sitting on. "Bakugo has seen it before. When I was being tortured, he saw it. Right?"

"The black stuff?" Luffy nodded. "Yeah, I saw it. I don't know what it was."

Ace and Luffy covered their arms in the armament haki. The others were surprised and confused. "What's that?"

Ace said, "We don't know. It guards against quirks. This is what let me survive Chisaki's overhaul with only having a handprint on, right here." They saw it and Luffy explained that Shigaraki sent the nomu to him because of this.

"We call it armament haki. Don't know where it came from or why we got it. It only manifested when Luffy was about to die. There's another type, too. Observation haki. We can see where anyone in a certain radius is and see what they're doing, and predict their movements about a split second before it happens. That's how we move so nimbly. We also had this to save our lives on the streets. We knew where bad guys were around and stayed out of their line of sight with this.

"It's not always been easy. It was confusing and scary. We were only eight when it happened." Todoroki asked if that was how they knew where to go in the steam bombs at the sports festival. "Yeah. It's also how we knew where Mirio was when he was going out ahead of us. We've improved rapidly by also mastering the haki. That's why Luffy's shields are stronger now. We figured out how to use haki for our quirks as well."

"Then there was last night, when another type of haki came. We were going to die, the nomu were running at us. We both shouted for them to not do it, and they froze and didn't attack. They just stood there, twitching a little bit. Ace thought that they might follow our orders, so he told them to kill themselves and they ripped their brains out and died," Luffy explained. "We don't know how to control that one. But again, it appeared when we were going to die."

Everyone was silent. "This could be like the Luminescent Baby. The first in the world to develop a quirk. Since you both have this, haki might become another ability," Todoroki said.

Hagakure exclaimed, "That's so cool! So you like, have multiple quirks! I wish I had that. Then I could be even sneakier when I'm fully invisible." The others nodded in agreement. Nobody seemed angry or jealous or upset. Even Bakugo wasn't showing any signs of silliness about the haki.

"You're not mad we've been lying?" Luffy asked. They shook their heads, understanding completely why they wouldn't want word of this to get out. They all swore on their hero futures to never tell anybody else.

After that, everyone else shared their pasts. It was weird, but nice. Even Todoroki shared his past with Endeavor and his mother. It was solemn, talking about all of their problems, but everyone felt closer afterwards. They had a sleepover in the common area in their sleeping bags besides Bakugo.

Ace and Luffy felt much more welcome and understood after that. It was perhaps the best thing to happen since going to the dorms. They didn't feel alone, and everyone knew their pasts and the reasons they did and thought things they did.

It was the next day that there was a school wide assembly. They stood in their places as the principal told everyone what had happened and the next steps that would be taken. "Do not worry, that nomu has been taken care of, but we must stay vigilant, which is why we are employing a defensive shield around the school at night. It will stay up and deter any outside interference.

"It will also be reaching into the ground in case anyone thinks to dig under the wall. Your safety is our utmost importance. For now, the campus is on lock down for the next week while we investigate. Please, try to have faith in us and your peers," Nezu said. Nobody looked at Ace or Luffy, nobody but their class knowing. After the announcement, they gathered in their own classrooms for one announcement before classes were suspended for the next week.

"Well, I'm sure you've all heard that the attacks were on Ace and Luffy, so we'll be putting the most security on your dorms. There will not be leaving the building until we know what they want. What is it?" Aizawa asked Kaminari.

"They already told us everything. I was wondering if we could practice with Ace and Luffy's new haki in class. If they are the only two who can stop the nomu, shouldn't we strengthen that ability?" The others nodded in agreement, shocking the brothers. They all wanted them to succeed now? Over themselves? At least, for now?

Aizawa was surprised, but his face relaxed and the tone of the class shifted immensely. "It would be a good idea, in my opinion. But we don't know the extent of their new ability. We don't know if it can cause damage to humans. It's still very unknown. The nomu are not human."

Sero said, "Couldn't we get some animals and see if they can work with the animals first?" Aizawa asked where they would get animals to practice on. "Like animal trials before human trials. What if their new power could stop the League of Villains, or make them turn themselves in?"

The teacher said, "I don't want any of you making even any hypothetical plans on going off on your own. You've already caused trouble with going off on your own when Bakugo and Luffy were taken. You've regained my trust, but that doesn't mean I won't be cautious. And you will not practice on one another. Only in supervised sessions. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," the class said.

Ace and Luffy had another thing on their minds. Eri. they hadn't gotten to see her yet. And now they were on lockdown for at least a week. They wanted to see her badly, try and make her smile. But, there was nothing to be done. The class went to get food, and grumbled about Aizawa's decision, thinking they should get on the new haki soon.

"Hey, hey. I've come up with a name for it. You have observation and armament, right?" Ashido said, walking in front of them backwards. "How about conquering haki? You made them not fight back. So you conquered them!" They others agreed that that was a good idea.

Ace and Luffy were happy. Luffy was beaming again. "Thank you, you guys. For being so understanding and nice," the younger twin said. They grinned and said it only made sense after that night where they spilled everything.

Kirishima asked why Ace wasn't covering the mark anymore, even if he was a little hesitant. He looked down on the ugly black hand print. "This shows that I was able to survive something no one else had. I was able to not fall victim to him. I held my own. It still gives me bad memories, but it also gives me strength, knowing that I deflected it.

"Might be messed up, but still."

Ojiro said, "I don't think it's messed up." Some of the others nodded. "But man, what a shitty night, huh? A bad nightmare and then what happened next."

Ace said it wasn't the best night they'd had. After lunch, the class went back to the dorms like they were ordered. Everyone in the dorms were ordered to stay inside. Nobody was happy, but there was nothing to be done. They stayed in there all day, everyone trying to touch Ace and Luffy while the dodged. Since it was being done inside, they couldn't go all out.

It was boring there, so they tried something perhaps a little stupid. They all wanted to see just how strong the armament haki was, so they each attempted to use their quirks on fully coated Ace and Luffy. Nothing worked. It either all slid off or bounced back. Which got dangerous when Aoyama's lazer bounced off and into the wall. They had to put out the small fire, and they decided maybe it wasn't the best thing to do inside.

They were watching a scary movie on the big TV, eating popcorn that Ace and Todoroki kept popping new bags so no one ahd to get up when the fire and ice user remembered something.

"Oh, Luffy. When we were finished with the provisional license exam, the wind kid said he wanted me to give you a formal apology from him. He said 'please tell Luffy that I really wasn't pretending to be positive. And that my negative view of Endeavor and Todoroki had dissipated and now I can be more happy'."

Ace said, "Aw, Lu's friend apologized." Luffy beamed and nodded, accepting the apology. Maybe he'd been too harsh back then. Well if he saw happy guy again, maybe they could officially make up.


	27. House Arrest

The next day, and the day after that, and the day after that were all the same. It felt like they were on house arrest, unable to leave at all while the investigation was ongoing and the shield was being engineered deep in the ground in the middle of campus so nobody could get to it easily. Rain could get through, but nothing else. Not even birds. They'd be trapped in or trapped out at night.

Hopefully they got used to the shield quickly and they wouldn't get fried. So when the shield was finally complete, the students got to watch it go up. It arced over the campus in a blue light before the shield went clear, only a slight waver of the stars above.

For showing how powerful it is, a cannon was shot and when the cannonball hit the ceiling of the shield, there was a bright light and what remembered a fly buzzer destroyed the cannon into dust.

"Holy crap," Kaminari said. "That's scary." The others around nodded. Iida pointed out that it should definitely keep them safe from outsiders. There had been no large media bursts like after the training camp debacle. They had to wonder if the school was hiding what happened from the general public.

Or maybe to keep the League of Villains from knowing what happened to their nomu. The one that must have been expensive before killed by a 15 year old.

That's right. Sometimes, Ace and Luffy forgot they were 15. It was obvious sometimes, like when they were terrified and crying about the approaching death of the nomu, or when Ace fell apart and lost control after losing Luffy. But other moments, like when they were on the missions to save Eri, they didn't feel 15. It was… uncomfortable. And both of them felt that way. They were so ahead for their age, sometimes they just forgot. Then when it came back to them, it was always a little shocking.

A bad thing about this force field was that it interfered with cell phone connection. They couldn't talk on the phone with anybody outside of the bubble. Messaging on the computer or skyping worked, but phone calls were impossible. But it was a small price to pay for that kind of protection.

Ace canceled his counseling sessions. Luffy felt he should still go, but he wasn't one to talk as he'd refused to see counselors after his torturing even when Ace wished he would. They were both stubborn to accept help from others like that.

After another week of campus-arrest, the higher ups were talking about restarting hero work studies, but for everyone this time. Ace and Luffy were excited until they were blatantly told by Aizawa that they wouldn't be participating. They were furious and upset. "What do you mean?! Why can everyone else go but we can't?!" Ace demanded angrily when the teacher gave them the news.

"It's not just U.A.'s choice. The police have said this as well. It's too dangerous when we have no idea why the nomu attack happened." Why now, where the League was or what their plan was. Everybody in their class would be doing it but them. "I'm not happy with it either, I understand your frustration."

Ace demanded what they'd be doing when everybody else was gone. "Practicing your new haki. Nezu, the teachers and police think you need to work on that power to be safe off campus and with other heroes. After that's perfected, then you will be allowed to go on trial leaves, surrounded by guards. We don't want to make a misstep and have you two pay the price."

They were both surprised with this choice. "How are you going to get animals? We don't even know how it happened." Aizawa said that was what the practice was for. And he said they would be working on teachers and not animals. There was no way for them to practice against the nomus again. And they had no real way to get large beasts on campus without drawing too much attention. "We don't want the public learning about these developments."

Ace and Luffy deflated. "What if we hurt them?"

"We'll have Recovery Girl on standby," Aizawa explained. Ace and Luffy were grateful they'd be trained on this, but they wouldn't be able to get off campus at all while everyone went off on their work studies. They were both upset about it. Feeling terrible and lonely. They would be the only ones who weren't out. It wasn't like you could do work studies on your own from home like an office job.

He told them they'd start the next day, as students were already filling out paperwork besides those who were going to the same ones as before. But Midoriya wasn't going back to Nighteye's. He was going with Todoroki and Bakugo to Endeavor's agency.

They moped all night, the others feeling sorry for them. "Hey, maybe when you master if you'll get to go, too." Luffy complained that everyone else would be having fun and growing strong while they were stuck there all alone.

"Stupid League of Villains. Why us? Why do they still hold a stupid grudge?" Ace grumbled angrily. "Are they afraid of us or something? In that case, then we should get to go out, too! Maybe we could do something about it!"

Uraraka reminded him that he'd get in trouble if Aizawa heard him say something like that. Ace deflated. There was nothing they could do at the moment.

The next day, those two were the picture of miserable and pitiful as they sat in the classroom completely alone, everybody out at their work studies. Ace and Luffy did the most important part of the shie Hassaikai, why were they the ones kept out? "I know this must be frustrating for you, and I understand why you are upset, but there's nothing we can do about it. Channel that anger and frustration into power.

"We're going now," he said. They were already in their hero outfits, masks back and replaced since they lost both of theres when they were rescuing Eri. They couldn't even get anywhere near her. Hopefully Mirio got to see her. If he wasn't at his own work studies. Nighteye had connected them the night before, expressing his sympathy for the two, but also saying it was the right choice for now.

They ended up at the gym they always practiced in with Cementos raising the floor to make stages. There were five teachers in there, they had no students to teach, since even class 1-B was gone off on their own. They felt lonely, but there was nothing they could do about it.

They were handed photos of the nomus remains as a reminder. As if they'd forget what happened only a couple days ago. They'd never forget that. Any part of it. The fear or the confusion or the relief. Especially the fear. Gunhead worried about them, but he couldn't see them at all now.

"We don't need these," Ace said and burnt them. "Neither of us will get that night even _burnt_ out of our memories." The teachers said to pretend they were nomu. That really wouldn't work, but looking back, they remember a burst coming off of them. Like a wave of heat, only it wasn't heat, but some sort of invisible...thing.

Luffy quietly said, "Let's get this the first time so we can go to the work studies like everybody else." Ace nodded. The teachers ran at them, and they channeled the determination to succeed, the fear of not being able to protect themselves next time, the anger of being isolated, and scrunched their eyes closed.

This time they said nothing, and their eyes snapped open wide, and they felt a much stronger force come off of them. They weren't expecting the teachers to freeze, have their eyes roll back and start foaming at the mouth before dropping unconscious.

It took a total of 3 milliseconds before Ace and Luffy started freaking out. "Ahhh! We killed them! Get help!" they screeched, and Ace zoomed to the main building with Luffy on his back. "Help!" they shouted, looking for anybody. Where was Recovery Girl?! She hadn't been around like she was supposed to be!

They came across completely knocked out kids everywhere, whole classrooms full of unconscious students. They continued to scream. "We killed everybody!" Luffy screeched, until Ace finally approached one of the bodies. He could feel their presences, but they were dim. He checked their pulse.

"They're alive!" Ace shouted.

Luffy cheered. "They're alive!" he shouted. "But… The burst reached the school. Everybody is unconscious. Couldn't this be dangerous? What if someone hit their heads?!" Ace grit his teeth. They didn't know how to wake anyone up. So they hurried off to try and find anybody strong enough to be awake or maybe having missed the wave.

They found All Might looking panicked. "All Might! You're awake!" they cheered. "We didn't know it would happen, we didn't mean to!" He calmed them down and asked what had happened.

"I thought you were supposed to be training with Aizawa and the others?"

"We were! We tried to do that power we used against the nomu, but everyone passed out! We came running for help but the people here are unconscious as well. We don't know how to wake them up, or if they're okay. We didn't think this would happen." All Might looked shocked. He asked where they'd been practicing. "At the gym we always work at."

He said, "You mean your ability reached this far into campus?" They both nodded. "Why don't we try waking the adults up?" The brothers nodded again. Were they really this powerful? But also, this out of control? They hadn't been aiming for it to reach all the way here. Or for it to work on everybody.

Slowly, though, people were coming to. Looking dazed but not injured. "Are you okay?" Luffy asked the nearest student. He nodded, and asked what had happened. They were working when all of the sudden, he was unconscious and now he was waking up. "Were you in pain?" he asked. The kid shook his head, saying he only passed out. "Well, we don't know what happened," the younger twin lied.

They hurried back to the epicenter and found the teachers awake but looking confused. "You're awake! We were so worried. We didn't know it would be like that," Ace said with a relieved sigh. Midnight asked them what had happened. "We tried the burst thing, but it just knocked everybody out in an instant. We went to get help but everyone inside the main building was asleep, too. Except for All Might. God, we were so worried."

Luffy commented, "It was like our burst of heat waves that destroyed the entire battle ground during the exam. We have no control." He looked at his hands. "But how do we get control of that without risking knocking everybody out again?" The teachers told them to slow down.

They did seem shocked, but also amazed. "Was that the same technique you used on the nomu?" Ectoplasm asked.

Ace and Luffy said that was what they were aiming for. But nobody froze, they just passed out. They didn't give orders or even have time to do so before everyone was asleep. "Well, we can see that it isn't the same thing for humans. We'll check and see if everybody is alright and then we'll move to a further away area from the general students. We can't use them as guinea pigs as well," Aizawa said.

Midnight said that they might as well train other things while the others check everybody else's safety. So, they were told to go all out on the teachers, all of them at once. They were happy to do so, fighting with everything they had, omitting the way too dangerous one that burned All Might and wiped out a large swath of land.

It was so surprising they were beaten up. Fighting against students was easy and they usually won. But these were pro-heroes. By the end, Luffy was bruised and both of them were tired. They trained for six hours. By the time Cementos announced their training for that day over, they were dead on their feet.

"Why don't we get you something to eat? You guys'll be sleeping the moment you get back to your dorm. This is just the first day," Ectoplasm said. Then he added that they did well to still be able to function. "We won't be pulling punches with you. You two need to get stronger faster than everybody else if you really are targets."

Ace and Luffy grinned tirely and gave high fives. They'd get some good training here, even if it bored them. They got food from the cafeteria, not needing to pay this time, and stuffed themselves before they were walked to their dorm and they passed out on the couches.

They were dirty and still in their hero costumes, but they needed to sleep. They were still passed out by the time the others got back late. Ace was woken up when Midoroya shook him awake. Kirishima commented that they looked absolutely beat. "Should change and go to bed," he said.

Ace shook Luffy awake, and they trudged to their rooms and just took off their outfits before passing out in their underwear. Luffy was on the floor while Ace was spread out on the bed. In the morning, they saw everybody eating breakfast. They cooked for themselves that day. "Yo. How'd it go yesterday?"

Luffy yawned and said they fought Cementos, Midnight and Ectoplasm all at the same time for five hours. "What about the haki?" Tokoyami asked.

"That was not as planned. We attempted to use it, but it just knocked everyone out. Made them foam at the mouth before going unconscious! And we went looking for help, but everyone in the main building was unconscious as well," Luffy explained.

"We have zero control over how far it reaches," Ace added. He and Luffy looked up to the silent room. "What?"

Sero asked, "You knocked out the entire school?" Ace said that All Might had been awake. "You guys don't even need work studies to improve if you're battling pros all day." Luffy pointed out that it was super boring and they'd rather be doing work studies.

They had class that day, it wasn't only them. Of course, many were absent due to their conflicting schedules. Everyone was tired, but Ace and Luffy were still ahead of everyone else in homework. Everybody else was dealing with work studies and class work and make up classes at the same time. Luffy and Ace knew they wouldn't be as swamped since they had the opportunity to go to class when the others didn't. They answered every question for the others, since they were tired or just werent able to keep up.

Where some people would get annoyed, it was a sort of break for them. They didn't need to pay as close attention. After class, they had hero training with All Might. It was a day to train on their own quirks. There were a lot of those classes lately, since they were all doing most of the improvement off of campus. Ace and Luffy wanted to work on a specific move.

"Can we go away a bit, away from others?" Ace asked the teacher. All Might asked why. "We want some space in case we lose control. We've been working too much individually. Our goal is to be partners, we need to work on combo moves more." All Might gave them permission to go as far as they could while still in his line of sight.

They walked away, and Luffy said he had an idea to keep everyone safe from their nuclear bomb-like move. He'd put a half a cube behind them so it didn't go behind them and hurt anybody. The direction they were aiming in was barren. There was a rock, a large rock, that would be their target.

Both of them had pulled this off at home long ago, they knew it wouldn't decimate everything in the vicinity. They had more control than the beginning of the year. They had four months of school left that year.

Luffy put up a wall that was half way resistant. Things could get through the outside, but nothing could get behind them. They joined hands, and unlike when they were against All Might, this time they had a pair of hands pointing in the directions ahead of them. They condensed fire and air around them in a circle. It was so hot it started to burn away Luffy's gym shirt. They'd avoided their costumes today for this reason.

They both opened their eyes and forced the power to go down their arm and out of their open palms. It shot out a superheated blast, but condensed into one direction. It blew apart the rock, raining down bits pebble and dust. It vaporized most of it, but there were still some remains. Maybe they could have Cementos make them some targets. But both of them noticed their shirts were burnt away. "Damn," Luffy swore. At least their shorts were intact. They looked down and saw straight below them was charred and grassless. All Might hurried behind them.

"I told you two to never use that technique again," he said sternly. Ace said they'd made a safety net. About Luffy's air shield. And that they had aimed it just fine.

"We have to work on our pair powers. It's a necessity for us," Luffy insisted. "And nobody got hurt, just the rock we were aiming at. What if a nomu attacked us and the haki didn't work? If we're trapped here completely, at least let us make ourselves stronger." All Might sighed and said that as long as no one got hurt, and they were sure that nobody would, then they could work with their more dangerous powers, but only under supervision.

"You two might want to go get some shirts if you don't wish for anyone to see your backs," All Might said quietly. Both of them blanched. Their scars and burns were visible for anybody. They said they'd be back. But then Todoroki and Kirishima were there. Two shirts hit their backs. "Keep practicing," Todoroki said. "Just don't burn away our shirts."

They smiled and thanked them, covering their backs. They smiled at each other, glad to have made such good friends. They tried to condense their nuclear attack even more, this time making it swirl only around their arms, and then only their hands. They pointed out both of their pointer fingers and attempted to write in the ground, but it was hard and the letters were not legible. But it was an improvement on control over this devastating move.


	28. Left Behind

Ace and Luffy were sick of this. Sick of being chained to the campus. They weren't allowed to go anywhere, they couldn't step foot outside of the gate. So, they went as far as they could without breaking the rules. Everyone was gone again on their internships. And they hated it. Everyone was growing stronger while they were stuck.

There had been no trace of the League of Villains or any nomu, yet they were still trapped. And salt was rubbed into the wounds when they found out the spots they would have had at Nighteye's agency had been filled. They were absent after all, and they couldn't keep the seats waiting for them forever. Mirio had contacted them and told them the bad news.

"I'm so sorry, guys. After all you did here, your spots have been filled. You two were amazing partners, and I'm sorry we had so little chances to work together," he said over the phone.

Luffy said, "Not your fault. But thank you for telling us. And we couldn't have had a better partner to find Eri than you were. How is she?" Mirio responded that she missed them. But he said that the hospital was preparing to move her someplace else, as she couldn't stay there forever. "Do you know where?"

Mirio said he didn't. Ace and Luffy deflated. "Thanks for telling us, Mirio. We appreciate it," Ace said. They hung up, and both of them sighed. They were sitting high in the air on an air block, high above campus. They'd probably get in trouble for it, but they wanted to be totally alone and this was the way to do it.

"Everybody is getting stronger. We need to catch up. We're still fit and practicing the fighting, but we need to show we aren't just sitting on our asses. I'm so tired of this bullshit," Ace said angrily. "There's been no sign of the League for forever! How long are we to be trapped and isolated?" Luffy put his chin on his knees.

Luffy replied, "It wouldn't be so bad if we weren't the only ones stuck here. Everyday, they come back talking about their work study. Did you see how well Midoriya did in the competition between class A and B? We won our match, but still. Now he's getting better. I'm not jealous, and I'm happy for him that he's improving, I just wish we could get some real experience, too." Ace nodded and leaned against Luffy's side.

"We have to catch up. Maybe we can advance our armament haki. Somehow, something only we can do. We can already aim and project the nuclear laser. That was our main super move. We need another one. Something only we can do," Luffy said strongly. "I mean, the main problem is that we have to keep the League away from us, right?" Ace nodded, wondering what he was thinking. "Haki can be solid for us. When I use it on my air, it hardens. It's strong and fast.

"We'll use it to repel somebody away. Maybe then they'd let us out. Maybe we need to prove that we're good enough to be on our own. I mean it's been a month since work studies restarted," Luffy grumbled. "We need to show we can take care of ourselves and be of help to others!"

Ace nodded, agreeing. "Let's go down and practice then," the older twin said. Luffy created stairs down, and when they were haki imbued, Ace could sense them. It was something nobody really noticed, that he could sense where Luffy's clear air blocks were. They both walked down the steps easily, dropping down onto the grassy field.

They started trying to put haki into their hands, but it wasn't working. It would concentrate in their arms, but there was always too much to force into their palms. It was useless, and they felt they'd wasted 3 hours they could have been doing something else with.

Ace tugged on the arm band he was back to wearing. That feeling of confidence with seeing the handprint had faded after awhile, and the hatred of the mark had come back full force. He hated seeing it. Hated it so, so much. So he covered it. Nobody said anything to him about it, which he was glad of.

Their classmates felt pity for them, which was embarrassing. When they walked into the dorm and heard Todoroki and Midorya talking about their time, both of them balled their fists. "That's it. I'm done, I'm done with being chained here," Ace hissed. "Let's go, we're going to beg to be let off. There's been no League activity and no sightings of nomus anywhere in the damn country. No sighting whatsoever.

They stormed to the main building, not caring that it was late, and made their way to the staff room. No one was there, so they made their way to the principal's office. He was the highest on campus, he could decide to let them go or not.

Ace knocked on the office door and they heard Nezu invite them in. "Ace, Luffy," Nezu said in surprise.

"We're tired of being chained here. Everyone is improving while we're just stuck here, not getting any experience or helpful advice to being better heroes. Every single person other than us is doing work studies. Please, what do we have to do to prove we can leave without dying?" Ace asked, sounding angry but also desperate.

Nezu said, "It's not the problem of your strength. You both are above all those your age at the moment. It's the unforeseen danger of the League of Villains." Ace pointed out that there had been not a single sighting of them in weeks. Plus, no nomu sightings either. Luffy said they were going stir crazy, seeing everyone else leave every day besides them.

The principal looked pitying. "I can understand how you feel."

"Then why are we being trapped here? Mirio told us our spots at Nighteye's agency have been filled since we weren't able to return. We barely got any time there before the mission against the Shie Hassaikai. We were big players in that, and yet we're just shoved aside while everyone else progresses into better heroes," Luffy said.

Nezu sighed and sat in his chair. "Please, we feel like we're trapped in a tiny fishbowl. Let us go _somewhere_ and do something helpful." The mouse looked at them with sad eyes. "We're already so behind if we do ever get to start work studies. Let us go before we're _too_ far behind."

"It is for your safety that we keep you here. But I recognize that it is cruel for all of your fellow first years to be out while you are the only ones left behind. You're making great progress with your abilities. I can see if there are any open spaces anywhere." Both of their faces lit up.

"Anywhere would be great. Anywhere, please," Luffy said and both of them bowed, pretty much begging.

The mouse said, "You two are skilled in fighting but also stealth. And teamwork, you have multipurpose skills. I'm sure you'd fit in anywhere. I will do some looking tomorrow for you. Oh, there is also something a little more sensitive I had to tell you. Might as well tell you now, right?" They both exchanged glances and sat in the seats.

"What is it?" Ace asked slowly.

"We got a call requesting to meet with you or talk over the phone. From your biological parents. They called the school yesterday." Both of their faces hardened into angry masks. "I told them it was up to you whether you wish to speak to them or not. I didn't give them your numbers or email addresses or anything of the sort."

Ace asked what they wanted. "To speak to you about personal things. I know you already have a legal guardian, and they abandoned you. Quite frankly, if they showed themselves in person, they could go to jail for neglect and child abuse."

Ace and Luffy shared angry glances. "We don't want to speak with them. If they call again, it's crass, but could you give them a message from us?" Nezu nodded, probably already knowing what they'd want to say. "Please, kindly tell them we said to fuck off."

Nezu nodded. "I did not think you would wish to speak to them based on what I know of your pasts. I just wished to tell you since it is your choice. I will call you tomorrow evening about any open slots for work studies late."

They both stood and thanked him from the bottom of their hearts, and hurried out. Both of them were happy they'd be let out somewhere with someone, but were angry at the gall those assholes had. To call their school after 8 years. Fuck them.

" _Stop that right now!" mom snapped, smacking Ace across the face when he lit his birthday candle with a finger. Luffy started crying, and their dad spanked him for it, making him cry harder. They were five at that time. Ace had just been able to make little flames on his finger tips while Luffy made a paper airplane fly all over the house._

_Their parents were being mean lately. When they didn't have their quirks yet, they seemed nice. They yelled, but they also said nice things sometimes. When they manifested their quirks at four, the two had been so happy they didn't have to live in shame if their children were quirkless, or had some strange deformity other than their blue eyes._

_The neighbors told them their eyes were pretty. And their mom would take photos of their cute faces and sold them to an industry that they never really knew about. They just thought mom and dad were taking them to the park to take pictures to make a scrapbook. Not as photo shoots to make money._

_They didn't realize that at every opportunity, they were taken advantage of to make some quick cash. They were featured in commercials when they were babies due to their eyes and Ace's cure freckles on his baby face._

_But when they were four, their parents were so excited when Ace was able to grow nice and warm and Luffy could make little bursts of wind with his finger tips. They were all happy, thinking things would be to that extent and they would get no stronger. But when Ace started to be able to make tiny flames that were bright, and Luffy started making bigger airflows, then that was when things started to change._

_Mom and dad were no longer warm. They no longer got to be with their neighbors, they were kept inside except to go out into the small backyard of their two bedroom house. They were banned from going anywhere._

_They were trapped at home so nobody would see their quirks. They didn't think they were so bad, and tried to make their parents happy. Ace lit the fireplace for them, thinking they'd like that. When it was hot, Luffy would make cool breezes inside._

_It was after Luffy was burned by hot water that they started to realize something wasn't right. They were five when that happened. They took the boys to the hospital for Luffy's burns, making it seem like it was a complete accident and that mom hadn't purposely poured boiling hot coffee onto his back for drying the dishes with his powers, wanting to make mom proud._

_Dad hated them, always sent glares at him. But then, their parents would completely turn around and express love, successfully making them unsure of what was happening. If they were a good mom and dad or if they hated them._

_But then, when the power went out and Luffy and Ace combined their powers for the first time, making little light balls to carry around in the dark, the real abuse started and it was no longer unclear whether they were loved or not._

_But those two were all the twins had, so they continued to try and impress them, making them happy and proud of them like they once were. They had no idea what the problem was, as their parents never outright said anything to them. Didn't say they didn't want to see the quirks Ace and Luffy were proud of._

_Then they started to be denied food as punishment. Sometimes they were so hungry, Ace tried to eat his own flames. It didn't work. They also found that Ace's flames didn't work on Luffy. And when Luffy was covered in flames for the first time, and they didn't know if it would kill him, the two said nothing. Lufy was crying and Ace was screaming apologies. But once it was clear the flames weren't burning his twin, they had punishments on their backs. Cuts, burns, bruises._

_And nobody was able to see the abuse as they were not allowed to leave the house. Finally, when Ace warmed up a cold bath for them was when they learned that they were hated because of their abilities. Dad yelled at them to stop showing off their quirks._

" _I thought mommy and daddy liked them. I like them, Ace. Is it wrong? Did we do something wrong?" Luffy asked one night in their shared twin bed. Ace hugged him and said he didn't know, but maybe they shouldn't use them anymore. "But I like being warm and cozy. And it's fun to make the paper airplanes fly."_

" _I know, Lu. I like it, too. But they want us to stop, right?"_

_Luffy asked if they'd love them if they stopped. Ace said it was possible. Luffy was always the crybaby of the two, but also the one who smiled the most. Ace was the more serious one that took care of his twin. They were the same age, but not mentality._

_Finally, after another year of abuse, Ace and Luffy lost control when they were upset. A wall of flames was put up around them to protect them from a very angry dad with a newspaper to spank them with. The next day, they were dragged into the car for the first time in many months, and taken to some place they'd never been to or recognized, far from home, and dumped. The car drove away, the two running afterwards, crying and screaming not to leave them._

_Luffy started crying. They were seven. "Why don't mommy and daddy love us?" he had sobbed. Ace hardened his mind and swore to take care of Luffy._

" _We don't need them, we'll take care of each other. They don't want us anymore," Ace said quietly. Luffy cried some more, and they found the first town. The slums they would be trapped in for the next five years until an angel would come and save them from that hell._

"Why the fuck woukd they contact us now? Why try to do it now, it's been 8 years," Ace hissed. Luffy didn't know. He was angry, too. He didn't want to see or hear from them, ever. Not after how they treated the twins, how they'd abused them, neglected and abandoned them for just being themselves, being happy with the quirks they were blessed with, and the control they had over them.

"I don't know. And it's been a long time since we were on TV. Or when my article came out about being tortured," Luffy replied as they walked back to their dorm building. Everyone was there already.

"Yo! How'd your day go?" Sero asked.

Ace and Luffy made a movement with their hand that was so-so. They asked where they'd been so late. "We begged Nezu to let us go to an internship. Nighteye's was full now. Our spots were filled since we've been barred from going. He finally said he'd look into some places to take us. Are any of yours free? Anywhere is fine, _we need out._ "

The others looked at one another. The brothers started to panic when they said no slots were open. They put their heads in their hands and sighed deeply, taking deep breaths so they didn't explode. "Endeavor might accept you two. Everyone knows you're strong. We already work on our own alright," Todoroki said.

"That would be great! Anywhere, anywhere is fine!" Luffy cheered. Todoroki said he'd talk to him about it. Tsu asked what else was bothering them, since they looked tense still. "Nezu said our biological parents called them and wanted to get in touch with it. After they abused us and ditched us cause we had strong quirks. It's been 8 years, we don't know what they're doing," Luffy replied honestly.

Ace said they were a bit pissy about it, which was what was most negative about the day. The others scowled at that. Ojiro asked if they knew what they were going to say. "Nothing. We asked Nezu to give them a message from us. 'Fuck off'."

"It's so weird hearing that from you two," Momo said, sipping a mug of tea. "There's still some tea left if you'd like any." The two thanked her and went to get a mug of tea. She asked what they would do if they tried to talk to them over any social media sites or with direct mail.

Ace and Luffy shrugged before Ace said, "Probably ignore it and delete or burn it and not look at it. We have no interest in talking to them. We already have a parent, and it sure isn't one of them." Luffy nodded in agreement.

They drank the tea before making some simple sandwiches for dinner before heading to bed after doing some homework in advance.

When they woke up, Ace found he had an email. It was from an unknown mail. Tigerbait2376. No idea who it was. He debated opening it before he closed it. He woke Luffy up for class. They showered and dressed before heading downstairs and to the living room. They were happy today, thinking they may be able to get a hero work study.

They were in a great mood during class, looking forward to being accepted anywhere. It was lunch time when they got a message from Mirio. Maybe it was something about Eri. They hoped she was doing well. They spoke to her over the phone the other day. She sounded a lot better.

"Mirio?" Ace answered, putting it on speaker phone so they could both hear.

"Yup, it's me! Sir said to contact you! He's opened two more seats for you both if you'd like them!" Ace and Luffy jumped up and said they wanted the seats, to hold them for it. Apparently Nezu contacted them. They were so grateful. They'd much rather be with Mirio and Nighteye than Endeavor.

Ace asked if there was anything more about Eri. "Yes! I was told today, I was going to relay it to you! Eri is coming to U.A.! She can't stay in the hospital forever, after all. You'll both get to see her!" Both of them were so happy. "I love giving good news!" they both laughed and grinned.

"Thank you for telling us all of this! You just made our day," Luffy said brightly. Mirio said it was his pleasure and they deserved something good to happen. He knew about the nomu attack because they trusted him and were honest. They hung up and Ace and Luffy grinned brightly. They would see Eri safely! They couldn't wait to try and make her happy. It wasn't fair they hadn't seen her in way too long.

Ace found his phone had another email from the same person, and finally opened it. He didn't scowl, as he was sure it wasn't their abusers. He'd thought it was one of them due to the timing. Instead, it was a link to a website, the message from this person saying: _I thought you should know about this. I've found your email from Nighteye to alert you._

The older twin frowned in confusion, but trusted whoever this was to not be spam if Nighteye had given his email. Nobody knew their personal emails besides the agency and their fellow students.

The link he clicked on was what seemed like a fan website about both of them, with photos taken of them that they weren't aware of. Photos of them training. Since they hadn't seen or felt this person around, that meant their camera was incredibly well at taking long distance shots. And whoever made this site was at U.A. based on where they were taking the photos of.

It seemed fairly new, as the photos only dated back a few weeks. Ace frowned. "Hey, Lu. We officially have our first stalker."

"Huh?!" Luffy asked, taking his phone. He looked at it and frowned. "That's not cool," he said angrily. "And it's someone from school, too." They scrolled through the website, seeing it had many fans, but there were also comments telling the creator to take it down. Many had reported it apparently. And they told the principal about it.

Ace said, "Why don't we not think about it today? It's supposed to be a happy day, right?" Luffy nodded and they closed it. After classes, they were summoned to the headmaster's office and sat in the chairs silently.

"Nighteye has said he will welcome both of you back. You may continue the work studies, but must come back before dinner time. You are not allowed to be out after dark. If we're letting you out, we still must be cautious."

They nodded, swearing they'd abide by those rules, and thanked him profusely. He said they were starting tomorrow and to be ready. He then told them about the fan site, and that it was taken down in the last hour due to illegal reporting on heroes in private. "We're keeping a close eye to see if they reform the website. I'm sorry that is causing trouble." They said it wasn't his fault, they didn't blame anybody.

"You're biological parents called again. I did not give your words because I am the principal and it would be unbefitting for me to say such a thing, but I have told them you are not interested," the mouse explained. Ace and Luffy nodded, thanking him. Hey left to go back to the dorms to do homework now that they'd be back to work studies.

Many of their classmates were still gone, but those that were there were so excited for them, so they'd be in better moods. Aizawa had approached them and told them they'd be worked to the bone, as they'd still be training their haki on days they didn't have work studies. They nodded, knowing they could hold everything just fine.

When they cooked dinner, grilled cheese sandwiches with some sort of lunch meat in them, they told their friends about the stalker site. "No way. You don't need that right now!" Kagakure explained. They both nodded in agreement. But at least the school shut it down. They said that sucked, and that it was unlucky they couldn't sense whoever was doing it.

"Yeah, we don't want them knowing anything about our haki," Luffy said, serving the first batch. Midoriya, Bakugo and Todorki walked in, looking exhausted. "Dinner's just about ready if you want to go change," Luffy called to them. They had noticed, gladly, that Bakugo was even less hostile now that he was in an internship with Midoriya.

It was nice they didn't need to stand up for him anymore. They weren't best friends anymore, but they weren't enemies. Sometimes Midoriya would see them laughing with one another and wear a sad face. They didn't change their minds about the break, still not knowing if things would go back to how they were before. Ever, if things would change.

When Todoroki came to get his food, he told them Endeavor agreed to let them join, but they both smiled and told them the good news, that they were going back to Nighteye. He'd opened more seats for them, perhaps feeling pity, perhaps just wanting them back after they got close to Mirio and Nighteye himself.

Then they told the newcomers about the stalker they seemed to have. Bakugo started laughing and pointing at them. They scowled at him, not finding it funny at all.

Before the shield went up, they called Gunhead to tell him about their day, the good and the bad. The good that they were going back to work studies and that Eri was coming in reach, and the bad about the stalker and their abusers. "I'm sorry you're under so much pressure at the moment," he'd said. "I wish I could live with you again and truly help. But after the nomu attack, it's clear you won't be leaving campus for a while to come visit."

Luffy said, "Sometimes, I wish we hadn't enrolled here. So we could be at home." Gunhead sighed, and said they couldn't change it now, and to not think about it too much. There was nothing they could do, and what-ifs weren't healthy. He asked Ace if he had considered going back to counseling.

"If the nightmares come back, I'll try it again. Promise," Ace swore. Gunhead said that was enough, and he was proud of both of them and how they overcame trauma well. Luffy pointed out that they were still traumatized from the nomu attack.

"Anyone would be. It's completely understandable." They nodded. That's what All Might had told him when they expressed that feeling after one of the hero course classes. The shield was going up and they had to hang up. "Sleep well, boys. Tell me all about your work studies, alright?"

Ace promised they would.


End file.
